


What Might  Have Been.

by CristinaBlackthornKingson



Category: Arc of a Scythe Series - Neal Shusterman
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Asexuality Spectrum, Bad Parenting, Best Friends, Birth Control, Canon Temporary Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Character Development, Childbirth, Children of Characters, Coming Out, Confessions, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Developing Friendships, Epic Friendship, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Forbidden Love, Friendship, Future Fic, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Gen, Hospitals, Kid Fic, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, LGBTQ Female Character, Major Original Character(s), Male-Female Friendship, Mentors, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Murder, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on Tumblr, Other, Out of Character, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Power Dynamics, Pregnancy, Protective Parents, Science Fiction, Secret Identity, Secrets, Single Parents, Slice of Life, Surrogacy, Teen Pregnancy, Temporary Character Death, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26562328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CristinaBlackthornKingson/pseuds/CristinaBlackthornKingson
Summary: What would have happened if The Grandslayers decided to get rid of the ninth commandment and let scythes marry and have children? Not only that, but what would happen if along with this role, they decided that the position of High-Blade would now be passed down from parent to child?In this AU, that is exactly what happened, not only that but Scythe Goddard is not disqualified from the election of High-Blade, and ends up winning. Now that he has the power he's always wanted, he needs to ensure that it stays with him and the New Order, so he decides he needs a child, an heir, and goes in search of a surrogate. And who should step up to that position? Scythe Rand of course.
Relationships: Rowan Damisch & Scythe Faraday, Scythe Curie & Citra Terranova, Scythe Curie/Scythe Faraday (Arc of a Scythe), Scythe Faraday & Citra Terranova, Scythe Goddard/Scythe Rand, Tyger/Scythe Rand
Comments: 12
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

It is a cold day late in the year of the Capybara, when an announcement is made by Supreme Blade Kahlo that rocks the Scythedom to its core.

Broadcasting her speech from Endura, to every region across the world, Supreme Blade Kahlo announces that after much deliberation, it has been decided amongst herself and the 6 other Grandslayers, that the ninth commandment is outdated and unnecessary and will therefore be removed, with immediate affect. Scythes are now free to marry and have children, though at this time they may only do so with other scythes, though that is not to say that this rule will never change. 

* * *

Supreme Blade Kahlo also announces that in 2 weeks time, whoever is chosen as High Blade of Midmerica, between Scythe Curie and Scythe Goddard, will be the first High Blade who will pass the title down to any child they have, when they feel ready to step down. If they have no children, a vote will be held in Conclave, as it has always been up until now. 

Two weeks later the scythedom and the world as a whole, is rocked to it’s very core once again, when it is finally determined who will be High Blade of Midmerica.

The 7 Grandslayers deliberated and discussed the topic of Scythe Goddard not being a fully trained Scythe since Tyger Salazar’s body was repurposed so Goddard could be revived, before calling the 4 scythes back into the room.

“We have decided, after much discussion and debate.” Supreme Blade Kahlo begins right away “That Honorable Scythe Robert Goddard _does_ in fact qualify as a fully trained and ordained Scythe, the repurposed body was efficiently trained as any Scythe would be, and though it may not have been in the traditional and formal way, Scythe Rand did an exceptional job with her training of the donor.” 

Goddard smirks and gives Curie and Anastasia a smug look, while Scythe Rand stands there looking very pleased with herself. 

It takes everything Anastasia has not to scream at The Grandslayers that they have made the wrong choice, a dreadful and awful choice, perhaps a year ago she would have, but Marie has taught her to calm her temper and keep her cool. 

“And of the matter of who will be High blade? Will we have to wait until next Conclave to see the results of the vote cast last Conclave?” Goddard asks calmly. Supreme Blade Kahlo shakes her head. 

“No I do not see a need to wait. We will open the results here and now, and let the winner return to Midmerica as the new High-Blade.” 

An attendant quietly steps up to Grandslayer Kahlo’s side and wordlessly hands her a plain black tablet.

There is a tense silence in the few seconds it takes Supreme Blade Kahlo to open and look at the results of the vote. When she looks up from the tablet her face gives nothing away. She turns to look at Goddard and in a clam and toneless voice, says

“Congratulations Honorable Scythe Goddard, you have been voted in as Mid-Mercia's new High blade.” Goddard grins proudly and smugly, bowing dramatically as if he has just won some sort of competition. 

“Thank you, Your Exalted Excellency.” He says. “It will be my honor to oversee Mid-Merica.”

“Yes I’m sure it will be.” Supreme Blade Kahlo sighs, for the first time showing any sort of emotion or bias toward the situation. “All four of you may leave now, our business here is done.”

Scythe Curie sighs softly and quietly and surprises Anastasia when she puts an arm around her shoulders in a very motherly gesture of affection. 

“Come along dear, lets go for a walk and take some time to process this.” She can tell how upset and angry Anastasia is, and of course she does not blame her one bit, she is also feeling devastated and full of anger, but at somewhere around 220, she is much better equipped to deal with her emotions than Anastasia is at hardly 19.

Anastasia rests her head against Scythe Curie’s shoulder and lets a single tear run down her face. 

“I’m sorry you lost.” She quietly says. Scythe Curie squeezes her arm and brushes back a lock of Anastasia’s dark and curly hair. 

“Me too dear, me too.”

In just a matter of hours Scythe Curie and Anastasia decide that neither of them can stand to stay in a region overseen by Goddard, and make the decision to move to Amazonia with Scythe Faraday, to help him find the founding scythe’s fail safe, and hopefully defeat Goddard. 

All 4 Scythes return to Mid-Merica two days later, though Anastasia and Marie only return to collect what little they left behind in Falling Water and to say goodbye to their friends, before boarding a train to Amazonia, where Scythe Faraday is waiting for them.

While Marie and Anastasia make some life changing decisions, so do Scythe Goddard and Scythe Rand. 

A week after returning from Endura, Scythe Rand steps into the kitchen of Goddard’s Fulcrum City Chalet where the two of them along with Goddard’s other undersycthes live, to see Goddard sitting at the kitchen table looking stressed and flustered, while looking through a stack of papers in front of him.

“What are you doing?” Rand asks curiously, peering at the papers over Goddard’s shoulder, they seem to be profiles of some sort, perhaps his next gleaning victims? 

“I am looking for a surrogate.” He replies in a neutral tone, giving Rand a bit of a shock. A surrogate? To get pregnant and have a child? For Goddard? 

“A surrogate?” Rand repeats in a shocked tone.

“Yes Ayn, a surrogate. You know the new laws about High-blades, it will be an inherited position from now on. I need a child, multiple children actually, to pass my leadership onto once I desire a more simple life, I cannot chance someone like Anastasia getting their hands on the title of High-Blade, so therefore I need a child, and in order to have a child I need eggs and a uterus, and since I have no time or want for romantic or sexual relations, a surrogate is my best option.” Goddard explains to her in an irritated tone, as is she is an idiot for not realizing this. 

“Oh.” Is all Rand can manage to say, still quiet shocked. 

“The trouble is, I cannot seem to find a suitable candidate, I have looked through thousands of profiles of potential surrogates over the last week, and have not found one that I am pleased with.” Goddard sighs in a tone of frustration. Just then, in idea comes to mind for Ayn, perhaps a crazy one but one worth giving a shot, nonetheless. 

“I’ll do it.” She says, before she can stop herself. “I’ll be your surrogate.” This gets a bitter laugh out of Goddard. 

“Nice try Ayn but I have already told you I am not interested in sleeping with you.” He tells her. 

“We don’t have to have sex, we can do artificial insemination. Think about it Robert, I’m the perfect candidate. You’ve known me since I was 17, you mentored and trained me and made me into the Scythe I am today. You know I share and hold the same beliefs and values as you, we could make a strong and healthy child together, a perfect heir.” Ayn can hardly believe she’s saying this, she has never wanted children before, nor had a desire to be pregnant, but how could she turn down the chance to be connected to Goddard forever? To carry his child and no doubt become an even more important part of his life.

Goddard is quiet and pensive for a moment, before speaking again. 

“If I agree to this, you understand that is simply a transaction, and nothing else? You will of course be welcome to be in the child’s life but you understand that this will not change my feelings about you?” He asks. Rand nods. 

“Yes absolutely” 

“Alright then.” Goddard sweeps the stack of papers in front of him, into the bin. “Lets find you a doctor and get this process started.” 

Two months later, Ayn finds herself nervously standing in one of the many bathrooms in the chalet, in regular street clothes with her hair swept up into a ponytail, staring down at a pregnancy test lying in the sink, or to be more precise a positive pregnancy test. 

It has only been a few weeks since she and Goddard made their attempt at conceiving a child, and it has been hell waiting the recommended two weeks to take a pregnancy test, Ayn had wanted to test before now but Goddard insisted they wait. 

Ayn isn’t exactly sure how to feel about the fact that she is now pregnant, on one hand she is of course thrilled and delighted, this is what she wanted after all, but on the other hand she can’t help but feel nervous and frightened, she’s never been around a pregnant person before and has no idea how pregnancy is going to affect her.

Brushing her concerns and worries away, Any picks the test up and steps out into the hallway, where Goddard is waiting. His head immediately snaps up from his tablet when he hears the door open, and he looks at his undersycthe questioningly. 

“Well?” He asks. Ayn smiles and holds the test up. 

“Told you I was your best choice, pregnant on the first try.” She tells him in a breathy, excited tone. 

Goddard grins and sets his tablet down, before pulling Ayn closer to him. He looks down at her stomach in awe for a moment, before placing his hand on her stomach.

“My child, my heir, you will change the world.” 

______________________________________________________________

Meanwhile in Amazonia, things are also dramatically changing. Just weeks after arriving in the country, Marie decided it was time to turn a corner, and decided that if she were to spend the next god knows how many years fighting Goddard, she would need to be younger and fitter than 40, so chose to reset to 32. When Marie turned a corner, so did Michael, also setting back down into his 30s, 35 to be exact. 

Almost immediately he and Marie had rekindled their relationship, now it was no longer illegal and forbidden. They may have claimed to be nothing but friends over the last 70 years but truthfully neither of them has stopped loving the other for one single second. 

Having already been in love with and having already known Marie for a very, very long time, Michael wasted no time in proposing to her. It was one of the happiest moments of his life when Marie agreed to marry him, only comparable to the moment in a small registry office with only Anastasia to witness, that they became husband and wife at long last.

It’s been a few weeks now since their wedding, and they now have the small bungalow beach house to themselves, since Anastasia found a place of her own only 10 minutes away. 

On this particular day Marie has noticed how odd she’s been feeling lately, this morning she was nauseous for hours and even threw up once, which is very unlike her, she’s also consistently been very tired over the last few days, and has been having extremely odd food cravings, things she would never usually dream of having are suddenly the greatest delicacy on earth. Perhaps she’s just adjusting to being so young again, for the first time in a long time.

It is not until later in the day, that Marie realizes the most obvious answer to her ailments, was the only one she never thought of. 

It has just gone 2 P.M. and Michael has gone out for a walk. Marie is getting ready to go to the store to get some ingredients for dinner tonight. She decides that while she’s there she might as well pick up any other things they need, so heads to the bathroom to check if they have enough toothpaste. 

When she opens the cupboard in the bathroom, one of the first things Marie notice is an unopened packet of pads siting at the front of the cupboard. _‘That’s odd’_ She thinks to herself. _‘I don’t usually have a whole packet left over.’_ she then realizes that she actually doesn’t know when her last period was, she knows she’s had one since turning the corner, they always return immediately, for her, and she’s almost certain she should have had at least two more by now. 

With a frown Marie pulls her phone from her pocket and quickly pulls up her calendar app, her heart sinking and her face paling when she realizes that she missed her period altogether last month, and is 5 days late this month. 

She immediately flashes back to her wedding night, how she and Michael were so happy to finally be together again, without having to sneak around, that caution and safety were the very last things on their minds. When they were together in secret all those years ago, they were also so very careful to use protection, but this time they never even mentioned it.

Quickly Marie shoves her phone back into her pocket and hastily makes her way to the store, where she quickly grabs all the ingredients for dinner, before picking up a pack of 2 pregnancy tests.

Marie hurriedly pays for her things and rushes back home, hoping to make it there before Michael gets back from his walk.

She decides to take just one test for now, and if it’s hard to read then she can take the other. However, the second test isn’t needed at all, as Marie watches the second pink line gradually appear, dark and definite. Shit.

She and Michael had discussed having children before, but now was not the right time, they needed to find the land of Nod, and the founding Scythes fail safe, in order to take down Goddard, they couldn’t do that with a baby or while Marie was heavily pregnant. 

Just then she hears the front door open and close, and hears Michael calling out to tell her he’s home. Marie takes a deep breath, grabs the pregnancy test from the sink, hiding it in her sleeve and walks out into the living room, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of Michael, as it always does. 

“Have a nice walk?” She asks, trying to keep the fear from her voice. 

“I suppose you could say that, I was very caught up in my thoughts, mainly about Nod and finding the fail safe. You know I love finally spending time with you like this and living this domesticated life we always wanted, but I think we ought to set out for Nod soon, we can’t let Goddard stay in power for too long.” Michael tells her, a hint of guilt in his tone, guilt at dragging her from this peaceful and happy life she always wanted, to take down Goddard.

“Actually Michael, I think that’s going to have to wait, quiet a while.” Marie nervously begins. Michael gives her a confused look. 

“Why?” He asks. Marie lets out a sigh and holds up the pregnancy test for him to see. 

“I’m pregnant.” Michael is silent for a moment, making Marie worry that he is upset and doesn’t want this baby, but instead he breaks out into a wide grin and embraces Marie tightly. 

“This is amazing.” He softly says, kissing the top of her head. “That is the best thing I’ve ever heard, I love you, I love you both so much.” 

“Really? Are you really happy?” Marie asks in a tight tone, wiping at her tears when Michael pulls back from the embrace. 

“Of course I am, there is nothing I’ve wanted more for so very long.” Michael tells her, taking her hands in his and squeezing them lovingly. 

“What about Nod? We can hardly set out for an unknown destination with a baby or while I’m pregnant.” Marie asks, worried that maybe Michael will set out for Nod without her, and their child could end up never knowing their father.

“We’ll figure it out, we always do. One thing is for certain Marie, I’m not leaving you or our baby, ever.” He leans his forehead against hers and places his hand over her stomach. Marie smiles and lets the tears of joy flow, placing her hand over Michael’s. 

“I love you.” 

“And I you.”

*****4 months later******

It is a cool Autumn day in Mid-Merica when Scythe Rand and Scythe Goddard find themselves standing in a darkened ultrasound suite at the best hospital Mid-Merica has to offer, waiting for Ayn’s 4 month ultrasound to begin. 

She has had a few ultrasounds before, but non that Goddard attended, he was not interested in being present for an ultrasound until he could see the baby clearly and hear a heartbeat, which is now possible at 4 months. 

Lying there on the medical exam bed with her shirt (she had worn street clothes instead of her robes, for simplicity sake.) hiked up to the top of her rib-cage, Robert at her side while the doctor sets up for the ultrasound, Ayn almost wants to reach out and grab Robert’s hand, let herself believe they are an actual couple seeing their child together for the first time, but she knows he will reject her.

Instead she turns to look at Robert, to gauge his reaction to the situation, and notices him staring at her swollen stomach. It gives her the sensation of butterflies in her stomach. 

“Like what you see?” She teases, hoping that perhaps he will give into his physical attraction to her, now she’s carrying his child.

“Just interesting is all, to know that my child is in there.” He calmly replies. Before Ayn can respond, the doctor speaks up. 

“Alright, ready to begin?” She asks. Both Scythes nod, and Ayn turns her gaze away from Robert at this moment, feeling a twinge of nervousness for some reason, it’s not like anything could be wrong with the baby, the worst that happens in pregnancy these days is an early birth, but even then a premature baby can immediately be helped by the Thunderhead.

As the doctor squirts the cold gel onto Ayn’s stomach and presses the wand into her stomach and begins to move it around, Ayn keeps her gaze on the ceiling, waiting for the nervous feeling to pass. 

“Everything looks good, baby is measuring right on track and the heartbeat looks good and healthy.” The doctor declares a few moments later, which is when Ayn’s nerves seem to settle. 

“Can I see? And hear the heartbeat?” Goddard asks. The doctor nods and clicks a few buttons. Within seconds an image is projected onto the second screen next to the exam bed, and the room is filled with a loud and steady thumping sound, like that of horses hooves running. 

“Amazing.” Goddard says in a tone of awe. “That’s my child, my son or daughter.”

Suddenly, Ayn can’t keep her gaze away and turns to look at the screen, immediately feeling her heart warm when she is met with the black and white image of a small but clearly outlined baby. She can see their hands and feet, can see them moving around inside of her. 

“Oh.” Ayn softly says, suddenly feeling an overwhelming rush of love for the tiny baby inside her, a love like she has never known before. 

“Boy or girl?” Goddard asks. 

“Boy.” The doctor tells him with a smile. 

At this, Ayn can’t help but suddenly feel a connection to this baby growing inside her, suddenly it_no _, he_ , does not just feel like a far off thought, but a real live person inside of her, someone who is going to rely on her for love and comfort and safety. 

Almost as soon as those thoughts enter her mind, Ayn brushes them off. She cannot become attached to this child, he is not hers, not really, he’s Robert’s, she’s just the egg donor and the carrier. This is not the making of a family, it is a transaction ,a favor to the man who made her into the woman she is today, nothing more. 

Later that day, back in Goddard’s Chalet, Scythe Rand is sitting in a chair in her room, reading a book, when she suddenly feels a gentle thudding/tapping sensation in her stomach. It catches her completely off guard, and she freezes trying to figure out what it was, when it happens again, and she realizes it was the baby kicking, the first kick. 

Rand sets her book down and slowly smooths her t-shirt down, her hand resting across her stomach. She feels another kick just then, and can’t help but let out a light and breathy laugh. 

“Hello there.” She quietly says to her stomach. As if responding, the baby gives another kick, a stronger one this time. “That was a big one, are you saying hello back to me? Do you know who I am? Do you recognize my voice?” Ayn runs a hand down her stomach, feeling that same rush of love and strong sense of attachment, that she felt earlier in the day at the hospital. She starts to wonder if she’s doing the right thing, if Goddard will be a good father to this child, will he love their son, as a father should, or only view him as a weapon, a means to an end? A way to carry on his legacy? She doesn’t want this baby to suffer, ever, even if it is for their own good.

Ayn quickly snaps out of this odd mood, shaking these odd thoughts and feelings away and taking her hands off her stomach, reminding herself that how this baby is raised is non of her concern.

The next morning, just a short while after Ayn wakes up and gets out of bed, the door to her room flies open and Goddard strides in, his blue robes billowing behind him. 

“Ayn, get dressed quickly, I’ve decided that we are going to announce the pregnancy to the world today, let them know that even after I step down, The New Order is not going anywhere.” Goddard hurriedly tells her, picking her robes up and shoving them into her arms.

“I...why do I need to be there?” Ayn asks, a little hesitant to share the news with the whole world, these past 4 months the only ones who have known about her pregnancy are she, Robert, Nietzsche, Constantine and the doctors who helped Ayn and Robert conceive the baby, and the doctors who have been providing medical care for Ayn and the baby the last 5 months.

“The speech is being televised and I want the world to see this, the proof that my child is on the way, my heir.” Goddard tells her, splaying his hand across her bump. She can’t help but a feel a little weak at his touch, her feelings for him have only intensified through the pregnancy, even if she knows he will never feel the same for her.

She thinks about telling him about the baby kicking for the first time yesterday, but decides she wants to keep that to herself, for now at least. 

She quickly dresses in her robes and follows Robert out onto the balcony of the chalet, where a microphone has been set up, along with 4 cameras, 2 trained on the microphone where Goddard will stand, and two trained to the spot beside him, where Ayn will stand. On the streets below, massive crowds have gathered to hear The High-Blades speech.

“Ready when you are, Your Honors.” One of the camera men say. Robert turns to Ayn and flashes her a smile, before gesturing for her to step up to her spot, as he steps up to the microphone. 

“My good people of Midmerica, and of the world. Today, Underscythe Rand and I bring you some wonderful news, news that will change the world and the Scythedom. Several months ago, I decided I needed an heir, and I was not looking forward to having to try and find someone worthy enough to bear my child, to carry the heir to the Mid-Merican Scythedom. But then, then I found the most perfect person for the job, and she is standing here beside me today. Ayn, show them.” Robert says in a booming tone, turning to look at Ayn at the end. 

Instantly knowing what he means, Ayn smooths her robes down around her stomach so that her bump is clear to see.

“As you can see, Scythe Rand and I are expecting a child. At this moment Ayn is 5 months along and the pregnancy has been a breeze for her, she and our child are doing very well, and in 4 short months she will give birth to the first in line to take over as High Blade of Mid-Merica.. We have recently learned that we are expecting a boy, and we will be making a formal and public appearance when he is born, much like this one. Scythe Rand, is there anything you would like to add?” Goddard asks, turning to look at Ayn, who in this moment has never felt more important or proud.

“Just that I am honored and thrilled to be carrying this child, who will change the world, Robert and I are starting a new generation of Scythes who will uphold The New Order and the honor of being a Scythe.” Robert grins and nods approvingly. 

“Any gifts for the heir are more than welcome and should be left with the guards at the entrance to this very chalet. We will put out a formal statement when the child is born, so you know when to return for his first appearance. Oh, and anybody who even looks at Ayn or my child the wrong way, can be promised a slow and painful gleaning.” With that, Robert steps back and ushers Rand inside. 

This news, unsurprisingly, comes as a huge shock to the world, and the scythedom in specific. 

In Amazonia, Michael and Marie are trying to work through their shock, having just finished listening to the broadcast. 

“And here I thought we were the ones making history again, thinking we were the first to have a child after the removal of the 9th Commandment.” Marie quietly says, running a hand down her stomach. 

“Yes, so did I.” Michael quietly says, seeming pensive. “It’s more important than ever that we find the fail safe now, before Goddard can raise that child to be a mini him.” Marie nods her agreement. 

“I agree but it’s still going to have to wait a while, I’ve done a lot of things in my life but giving birth in the middle of nowhere is not going to be one of them, and we can’t take a brand new baby out into the middle of nowhere, with no revival centers or anything.” Marie says, already worried for the little life growing inside of her. 

“We could go when the baby is older, around 1, perhaps? I know it’s not ideal but it’s so vital we find the fail safe, and we will both do everything we possibly can to keep the baby safe.” Michael suggests. Marie thinks about if for a minute, before nodding in agreement. As he said, it’s not ideal, but it will have to do, Goddard must be stopped.

______________________________________________________________

Over the next number of months, Ayn finds herself growing more and more attached to the baby she is carrying, unable to help herself from talking to him, and thinking what it will be like when he’s born. She hates nothing more than to hear Robert talking about how he will raise his son to be the best Scythe that ever walked the earth, and how his son will not only one day rule Mid-Merica, but the rest of the world too. 

To her, he is far more than a prodigy and an heir, the baby she carries is an innocent life who deserves a chance to be whatever he wants, not forced into Scythehood. She often has to remind herself that is exactly why this baby was conceived, and exactly why Goddard chose her to carry his child, they share the same ideals and thoughts and beliefs, they have the same goals, the child will thank them for everything, when one day he is the most powerful Scythe in the world. 

When Ayn is 8 months along, just 3 weeks from her due-date, as a gift to her for all she has done the last 8 months, Goddard takes her to a mass-gleaning, at a tonist cloister.

Usually Ayn loves to glean, especially pesky and irritating tonists, but today for some reason, her heart just isn’t in it and she has decided to step back and watch Robert do what he’s best at, gleaning. 

A few minutes in and he starts spouting his usual crap about being the tonists completion, a master of all and someone to give thanks to. Then things change a little, he seems to be going mad with power.

“My legacy will not stop with me!” Goddard bellows at the tonists. “For when it is my time to step down, my son will take my place, my heir and prodigy and he will show you no mercy either, he will be the greatest Scythe the Scythedom will have ever seen, he will uphold the New Order and my ideals and continue to rid the world of pathetic menaces to society like you! I_” But before Goddard can continue his rant, he is suddenly cut off, and the blade of a knife pierces through his chest, in the very same spot as his heart.

As Goddard’s face grows slack with shock and he buckles to his knees, the life seeping out of him, the tonists are met with the sight of Rand standing there, a bloody knife clutched in her hand, her chest rising and falling and a hand resting on her stomach. 

She couldn’t listen to him anymore, could not take hearing him talk about their child as if he is nothing but a weapon for Goddard to use, nothing but an insurance policy. Ayn could not take it anymore, she can’t deny it now, she loves her child, has grown attached to him and formed a bond with him, she never meant to but she has, and she will not let anyone harm a single hair on his head or force him to do anything he does not want.

“If you wish to be spared.” Rand grinds out through gritted teeth. “Then you will go and spread the word that Scythe Goddard has been killed by unsavories who have burned his body, you will not mention that I was here, and if you do I will glean you and your entire family, is that clear?” The tonists immediately nod, agreeing readily. 

Ayn quickly makes arrangements to have Goddard’s body hidden off-grid and preserved until she can decide what to do with him. Once that is done, she makes her way to the nearest public car, intent on getting as far away from here as possible.

Just as Ayn pulls the car door shut after her, she is hit with a wave of pain in her stomach, that has turned rock-hard under her hand. Seconds later the pain is followed by a gush of water from between her legs, soaking the car seat and her robes. 

“Oh no.” Ayn quietly says to herself. She wasn’t prepared to go into labor today, she isn’t due for another month, but the stress of the day must have sent her into labor. 

_“What is your destination?”_ The car asks in it’s emotionless and robotic voice. 

“The nearest hospital.” 

Thankfully, Ayn’s robe and ring get her a lot of attention straight away and she is quickly escorted to a large and comfortable room on the labor ward, where she is able to change out of her wet robes and into a dry hospital gown.

Her labor is long and painful, and quiet honestly terrifying. She has no idea what’s going to happen once the baby is born, now that Goddard is dead and their arrangement is obviously over, how is she going to fare as a mother? A single mother no less? It had never been in her plan to have children, yet here she is, hours away from giving birth to her mentor’s child, her mentor who she killed.

The pushing is the worst part, undoubtedly, it lasts for hours and takes every ounce of energy Ayn has, not to mention it hurts like hell since she has her pain-nanites turned off, has done since she was 17 and first apprenticed with Goddard. 

After 3 hours of pushing, Ayn is feeling ready to give up, for the first time in her life, unsure of how much more she can take. 

“Baby’s out up to his shoulders, Your Honor, the worst part is over, just one, maybe two more pushes now and he should be here.” The doctor tells Ayn in an encouraging tone. 2 more pushes, she can do 2 more pushes. 

Gripping the back of her legs for support, Ayn leans forward into the push, groaning at the pain, her face turning red from the strain and effort of pushing. 

“That’s it Your Honor, keep going baby’s out up to his tummy now, just a few more seconds!” The doctor tells her in an excited tone. Scrunching her face up, Ayn pushes down even harder than before and lets out a loud yell of pain, before she feels a weight lift from her and hears a baby start to cry. She sighs in relief and relaxes back into the pillows.

Seconds later the baby is placed on her chest, and the nurse by her side starts to rub and wipe the white vernix and blood off of the baby. 

Ayn immediately puts her arms around her baby, pulling him closer to her and peering down into his little face. He is so utterly perfect, and before she knows it tears of joy start to spill down her face. 

“Hello.” She says through the tears. “Hello little one, oh my god you’re so perfect, I can’t believe I made you! I love you, I love you so much.” She presses a kiss to his little head full of thick dark brown hair, inhaling his sweet scent and never wanting to let him go. 

“Do you have a name for him, Your Honor?” The nurse asks. 

“Alex.” Ayn immediately says, not even having to think about it. “Alexander James, but I’ll call him Alex for short.” 

“Shall I put Rand as his last name?” The nurse asks. Ayn shakes her head.

“No, put Kwon, my birth surname, and put his mother’s name down as Olivia Kwon.” From the second little Alex was placed on her chest, Ayn knew she could never return to being Scythe Ayn Rand, this little boy has already changed her so completely and she is going to devote her life to loving him, raising him and supporting him.

“And the father’s name?” The nurse asks. This, Ayn has to think about for a second. While she is thinking, she looks back down at little Alex and really takes in his features for the first time, he has light brown skin, her eye shape and bone structure, and long elegant fingers like Goddard. No, not like Goddard, like Tyger. In that moment she knows what she has to do. 

________________________________________________________________

When word of Goddard’s death soon reaches the rest of the Scythedom, Marie is called back to Endura, by The Grandslayers. 

Michael, of course goes with her, seeing as she is 7 months pregnant, he is extremely concerned for her and worried at all times. 

He is by her side when she stands by the 7 Grandslayers once again, waiting to hear why the have called her back here. 

“As I am sure you are aware.” Supreme Blade Kahlo begins, not one to waste time with small talk. “High Blade Goddard has met an untimely end at the hands of unsavories, and we are unable to find Scythe Rand who when last seen, was pregnant with Goddard’s child, heir to the position of High Blade. She cannot be traced by her ring nor has she been seen since before High Blade Goddard’s death.

In this case, we need a new High Blade, and not just a stand in until Goddard’s child comes of age.

Honorable Scythe Curie, you were only 1 vote away from winning the election against Goddard, and I fully believe you would and will do an excellent job as High Blade. Therefore the 6 other Grandslayers and I have decided that we will not hold another election, rather that you, Honorable Scythe Marie Curie, will be our next High Blade.” 

Marie can’t say she’s surprised, she had suspected this may be the reason The Grandslayers wished to speak with her again, but she had not wanted to accept it. High Blade is not a position she desires, especially when she is just about to become a mother.

“Do you accept your appointment as High Blade, Scythe Curie?” Kahlo asks. Marie nods, knowing that though she does not want to be High Blade, she needs to be.

“Yes, Your Exalted Excellency, I accept the position.” Marie says in a confident tone, straightening her posture and holding her head high.

“Very good, then you shall return to Mid-Merica and begins your duties as High Blade by cleaning up the mess Goddard has left behind.”

That is exactly what they do, Marie, Michael and Anastasia all return to Fulcrum City, and spend the next 2 months restoring order and justice to The Scythedom. 

2 months after being appointed High Blade, Marie wakes up one morning to a damp feeling beneath her and strange, surge like pains in her stomach. 

_‘I think my water broke.’_ Marie thinks to herself, pulling the blankets back and (with some effort due to the sizable bump in her way) pushes herself off the bed. Just when she gets to her feet, there is a trickle of water from between her legs, quickly soaking the floor beneath her. 

“Michael!” Marie calls, lowering herself back down onto the edge of the bed. Michael appears in the doorway just seconds later, a look of panic and worry on his face. 

“Is everything alright?” He anxiously asks. 

“My water broke, the baby’s coming.” 

Michael’s jaw drops and his eyes widen in shock. He quickly turns on his heel to grab his phone and call the midwife, seeing as Marie decided to have a home birth.

The next few hours pass by quickly and peacefully, with Marie able to handle the pain very well, and both she and Michael feeling more eager than ever to meet their child. 

Thankfully Marie’s labor isn’t too long, only 4 hours in total, and only 1 of those is spent pushing. 

At 1:03 P.M. on the 23rd of March, Year of The Cobra, Marie grips Michael’s hand, takes a deep breath and gives one final push, before seconds later feeling a weight lift from her and a sharp and loud wail pierce the air. 

“It’s a girl!” The midwife happily announces, quickly passing the baby up to Marie, who pulls her daughter close to her chest and lets the tears of joy fall. 

“Hello baby girl.” Marie quietly says, looking down at her daughter. “You are simply the most beautiful and perfect baby ever, I love you so much.” 

Michael quickly wipes at his own tears, before stroking his daughter’s cheek and looking at her in awe, hardly able to believe he made her, he and Marie, and that he gets the honor of loving and raising her for the rest of his life. 

“Hello little one, little Sophie, Sophie Amelia Faraday-Curie, I’ve waited over 200 hundred years to meet you and every second was worth it.” Michael softly says, his heart beyond full of love for his beautiful daughter. 

“You have no idea Sophie, how very wanted you were, and how very loved you are. You are the most precious thing in the world, Sophie, and I promise I will be the best mother you could ask for, you’re my priority and I will always love and support you.” Michael puts his arms around his wife and daughter, and leans down to kiss Sophie’s forehead. 

“As will I, you are so loved Sophie. I have been given many an honor in my life, but being your dad is without a doubt, the single best thing ever to happen to me.”

________________________________________________________________

When Tyger wakes up, he’s not so sure where he is. The room he is in is completely unfamiliar to him, and the last thing he remembers is boarding a train to Texas, to go work for that Scythe who contacted him. Did that happen? Did he splat? Is that what this is, a revival center in Texas? It makes sense, it seems similar to other revival centers he’s been in, and if he went deadish in way that messed with his brain, his memories would only be backed up to when he left for Texas. 

Tyger runs his hands across his face in an attempt to shake off the groggy feeling he has, but something doesn’t feel right. His nose isn’t the same shape and there’s stubble on his chin and jawline, which he never had before.

“Good to see you’re awake, Tyger.” a vaguely familiar feminine voice says. Tyger turns his head in the direction the sound came from, and sees a tall woman sitting in a chair by his bed, she has straight black hair that stops just at the top of her neck, she is wearing an emerald green blouse paired with dark blue jeans and black boots. Tyger vaguely recognizes her, from a party he attended once, Scythe Rand is her name, she flirted with him a bit at the party and he can’t deny he felt something between them. She looks a bit different now, her hair use to tumble past her shoulders, now it is much shorter, and she looks different out of her robes.

Then Tyger notices the most surprising thing of all. In her arms, Scythe Rand is carefully cradling a baby, who looks to be no more than a month old at most. The baby is dressed in an emerald green onsie and is suckling contentedly on a pacifier, looking all around him with big curious eyes. His little head is covered in a mop of dark brown hair and he seems very content and at peace in Scythe Rand’s arms, holding tightly onto her thumb as he takes in his surroundings. Actually, he kind of looks like Scythe Rand.

“I... Uh... why do you have a baby?” Tyger asks in a confused tone, still trying to get his bearings together. 

Rand smiles and shifts closer to Tyger so he can get a better look at the baby.

“This is Alex, our son, _your_ son.”


	2. Part 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waking up in a strange off-grid revival center, Tyger Salazar not only has to come to terms with the fact that the woman he loves was the one who made him deadish on purpose (with at the time no intention to revive him) but also the fact that in the time that he was deadish, he became a father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TW/CW**
> 
> Absentee parents.  
> Childhood issues.

“What do you mean _my_ son, what do you mean _our_ son?” Tyger asks Rand in a disbelieving tone of confusion, pushing himself up so that he’s sitting back against the pillows, trying to comprehend what she’s just told him.

Rand sighs and looks down at the baby- Alex- in her arms, running a hand over his mop of dark brown hair. She bites her lip before looking back at Tyger and quietly saying 

“It’s a very long story, and you’re probably going to hate me by the end of it.” Tyger’s heart starts to raise with anxiety. 

“I can decide that for myself, just tell me what happened and why I’ve just woken up in some weird revival center with no memories of how I got here, with a Scythe by my bed with a kid you’re claiming is not only yours, but mine too.” Tyger tells her, his tone raising in anger and confusion. He just wants some answers. 

Over the course of the next few minutes, Rand explains everything to Tyger, from how she trained him as a Scythe in body alone, allowing him to believe he was going to be an ordained Scythe at the end of it all, to how she gleaned him and repurposed his body to revive Goddard, who then became High Blade which is why Alex was conceived in the first place. She tells him how she, in the end, chose her son over Goddard and killed Goddard to keep her son safe, and in turn revived and restored Tyger. 

“I know what I did to you was and is totally and completely unforgivable and I do not blame you one bit if you detest me. I can’t say I regret it because had I not done it, chances are I wouldn’t have Alex, and he is the single best and most important thing in this world. 

Alex has made me a better person, made me want to continue to be a better person, so I’ve gone off grid. That’s why I cut my hair and why I’m not wearing my robes, so The Scythedom can’t track me down. 

It’s also the reason I’m going by my birth name now, so you can call me Olivia, instead of Ayn or Rand.” 

Once she has finished her explanation, Olivia/Rand looks at Tyger for a few seconds, before once again looking back down at Alex, smiling at the sight of his sweet little face. 

The room is silent for a few minutes, the silence only ever interrupted by Alex’s snuffles and baby noises or the sound of him suckling on his pacifier. 

“You should leave now.” Tyger’s tense voice finally breaks the awkward silence a few minutes later.

Olivia/Rand had been prepared for this response, knew it was the most likely response Tyger would give, yet she still finds herself feeling a little bit upset and disappointed. However she simply nods, picks up the bag she brought with her, containing cleans clothes, diapers, etc. for Alex and stands up.

“I left my phone number and address on a piece of paper in your bedside locker, so you can contact me or come visit Alex whenever you want. 

I’m going to let you know here and now that I am not willing to split custody with you, not even 50/50, I will not be without my son for half the week especially when he’s hardly a month old. You are, however, more than welcome to come visit all the time and be heavily involved with him, but just know that if you try to mess with us in anyway you’ll hate me for a totally different reason than you do now.”

With that Olivia/Rand strides from the room with her head held high and Alex expertly cradled against her chest, leaving Tyger to try and process everything that happened. 

_______________________________________________________________

Olivia/Rand now lives in a 2 bedroom 2 story house just 10 minutes from the off-grid revival center, where she had Tyger revived, so it takes her hardly anytime at all to get home. 

Once there she easily settles Alex in his bassinet in the living room, for his afternoon nap. She feels so lucky to have such an easy and laid-back baby who doesn’t fuss much and just loves his sleep, he’s very like Tyger in that way. 

As Alex sleeps soundly where Olivia/Rand can see him from any place in the downstairs part of the house, she goes into the storage closet where she has stored away her robes, the ones she was wearing the day Alex was born, they still have bloodstains on them, both from when she gleaned Goddard and moments later when she went into labor. 

Despite what some may think, Olivia does not keep her robes for sentimentality or because she has intentions to one day return to being Scythe Ayn Rand, but because if she were to throw them away they would instantly be recognizable and could lead the Scythedom straight to her.

Olivia walks up to her robes and plunges her hand into one of it’s many pockets. She still has a few weapons in here too, but the most important thing is what she pulls out a few seconds later. Her ring. 

She’s kept her ring because she’s not sure what to do with it, the Scythedom can’t use it to trace her unless she gleans someone while wearing it, or uses it to grant someone immunity, which she has no intention of doing, Alex automatically has immunity, as her family member so she doesn’t need to have him kiss the ring or anything. 

She steps out of the storage space and leans back against the wall, spending a few minutes studying the ring and getting lost in her thoughts. She remembers the day she was ordained, very clearly, it was only 8 years ago after all. What made her happiest about that day was the attention and praise she received from Goddard, at the time she was his only Junior Scythe (Chomsky would join them the following year and Volta wouldn’t even be ordained for several more years.) 

All day he told her how very proud he was of her and how she would rise to the very top of the ranks in no time. She adored the attention he lavished on her, she was crushing on him hard, felt like she was totally and utterly in love with him and couldn’t think of anything better than getting to live with him and see him and spend time with him every single day for the foreseeable future. 

If someone had told 17 year old Olivia that she would actually end up having Goddard’s baby one day, she would have lost her damn mind, little did she know what a terrible and evil person he was.

She then starts to think about what she should do with the ring, she already knows she’s never going to be a Scythe again, never glean anyone again.(Unless someone tries to hurt Alex in anyway, then she will go full protective mama bear mode.)

When she took Alex to the hospital last week so the doctors could make sure his nanites were working correctly and he was growing properly, she heard people talking about how Scythe Curie had been appointed High Blade in the wake of Goddard’s death. Olivia briefly thinks of approaching Scythe Curie and asking for her help in completely erasing herself from the Scythedom and keeping Alex’s identity as legally Goddard’s son, a secret. However she is far too stubborn and proud to accept help and quickly dismisses the idea.

Instead, Olivia steps into the kitchen and drops her ring down the trash compacter before switching it on and ridding herself of Scythe Ayn Rand, forever. 

_______________________________________________________________

That night, at around 3:00 A.M, Olivia is pulled from her peaceful sleep by the familiar sounds of Alex’s high-pitched cry, the cry which she has come to decipher as his ‘I’m hungry’ cry.

Olivia rubs at her eyes before pushing herself up in bed, pushing her hair back from her face. 

“Okay buddy I hear you, I got you it’s okay, mama’s got you.” She softly and quietly says, reaching over to the bassinet by her bedside and gently lifting Alex out and into her arms.

As she sits there in the dark, only illuminated by the streetlights outside, nursing her son, Olivia takes the moment to think of how much she really loves her son, and how beyond grateful she is to have him.

“I love you so much Alex, I know I tell you every single day but I want you to know just how loved you are. My parents never told me they loved me, or showed it, it’s probably one of the reasons I became the person I was before I had you.

You changed me Alex, the minute the midwife placed you on my chest I knew I could never go back to the person I was before I got pregnant, before I loved you. You deserve a much better upbringing than I had, or than the one Goddard wanted to give you. I’m not the most maternal person in the world but I’ll do anything for you Alex and I promise I’m going to be the best mom you could ask for.

Before you, I thought myself in love with Goddard, I thought I needed him. When I was younger and slept around a lot it was only ever to make him jealous, I thought if he saw me with other men- and women- he would realize he actually had feelings for me and wanted to be with me, but obviously that never happened. And you know what buddy? Turns out I didn’t need Goddard, what I needed was not just somebody to love me _,_ but somebody for me to love and be responsible for and take care of, and now I have that person, I have you.”

By the time Olivia has poured her heart out, Alex is sound asleep again. She smiles and adjusts her top before kissing her son’s forehead. 

“I love you Alexander.” 

The next morning, at just a few minutes past 9:00 A.M., just after Alex finishes his first morning feed and Olivia is just about to prepare her own breakfast, there is a knock on the front door. 

Olivia freezes when she hears the knock. She hasn’t had any visitors in the month since she moved here and hardly anyone knows she’s here. It could of course easily be a neighbor being friendly, there’s a small chance it could be Tyger wanting to see Alex, but it’s only been a day since his revival, he probably needs a lot more time to think. Or worst of all, it could be a Scythe, either come to glean Olivia or come to confront her for abandoning her position as a Scythe and just disappearing. 

Knowing there’s no point in just ignoring the door, Olivia picks Alex up and holds him firmly and tightly against her, in case it is someone from the Scythedom and she has to run. She also slips a sharp knife from the kitchen, up her sleeve, experienced enough with weapons not to cut herself or Alex.

Taking a deep breath, Olivia makes her way over to the door and slowly opens it, her heart racing. However she needn’t have worried at all, as almost right away she can see that it’s Tyger standing there. She lets her shoulders sag with relief, both pleased and surprised to see Tyger standing there.

“Hello Tyger, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.” She calmly says, discretely slipping the knife onto the side table just behind her.

Tyger shrugs.

“I mean... it is what is I guess. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you for what you did to me, but... I don’t wanna be a deadbeat like my dad was, I wanna be involved with my kid, be there for him and let him know I love him and care about him, the opposite of what my dad did for me. So... I’m willing to be civil with you for my kid’s sake... our kid’s sake.” He tells her, doing his best not to let his voice convey his feelings of hurt over how his dad treated him. 

“Like I said yesterday, you’re welcome to be in Alex’s life. Do you want to come in?” Olivia quietly asks, stepping back and holding the door open further. Tyger nods and steps into the small house.

“Can I hold him? The baby.... Alex?” Tyger hopefully asks, once settled on the sofa in the living room where Olivia had been sitting just moments ago. 

“Sure.” Olivia says, forcing herself to push past her instinct to pull Alex even closer and not let anyone else near him. Tyger is his father, he has every right to hold and get to know Alex, it was the main reason she revived Tyger, so Alex could have his dad in his life, his real dad. 

Olivia carefully lowers Alex into Tyger’s arms and almost immediately Alex makes strange, starting to fuss and squirm, letting out a few squawks and cries of protest, making Tyger grow wide-eyed and look up at Olivia, his eyes full of alarm and panic.

“Sorry.” Olivia apologizes, giving Alex his pacifier which always soothes him. “He’s not use to other people being around or being held by someone else, it’s just been the two of us since he was born last month.” 

Within a few seconds though, Alex settles down and lets his eyes flutter closed, and he soon dozes back off to sleep, clearly feeling pretty safe and secure with his dad. 

Tyger looks down at the baby in his arms in total disbelief, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that this baby is his, his son, his son that had been conceived while he himself was dead and a crazy dictator took over his body and used it to create the baby in his arms right now, who he was going to raise to be another crazy dictator, like some of those downright evil rulers from mortal times, Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump come to mind. 

Tyger brushes a hand over Alex’s hair, smiling at how peaceful and happy he looks. 

“I can’t believe I’m a dad.” Tyger quietly says. 

“I felt like that at first too, even after almost 9 months of pregnancy and a whole month before that knowing that I was going to be pregnant in the near future, I still couldn’t believe I’m a a mom, it took a few days to wrap my head around it but now it feels like he’s always been here.” Olivia replies, hardly able to believe there was indeed a time in her life without Alex.

“He looks just like you.” Tyger says with a small smile, really noticing the likeness between Olivia (or Rand as he still thinks of her) and Alex. 

“He has your hair though, the color anyway, hopefully the poor little guy won’t end up with hair so thick the brush gets caught in it, like me.” Olivia responds with a light laugh.

Tyger spends the rest of the day with Olivia and Alex, getting to know his son and letting Olivia fill him in on the details of her pregnancy and birth, and the first month of Alex’s life. He learns to change a diaper, how to wind Alex and calm him down when he cries, he gets to spend an hour just holding his son and bonding with him, while Olivia takes a much needed nap. It’s one of the best days of his life.

Tyger continues to show up at Olivia’s everyday to see Alex, and often spends the night in the guest bedroom, taking Alex during the night when he’s anything but hungry, letting Olivia rest. 

He buys Alex any and everything a child could want, and soon falls totally head over heels in love with his son, feeling a love for him stronger than he has ever felt any other emotion, ever. It took a while for them to form that bond, but after lots of quality time together, they’re soon the best of pals. 

When Alex says his first word (mama) at 9 months old, Olivia and Tyger are the two proudest parents in the world, Olivia never feeling more happy and secure in her position as a mom, there’s something special about hearing your baby call you ‘mama’ for the first time, it made her fall in love with Alex all over again. 

Over the next year the three of them become the solid little family that Olivia had wanted so badly with Goddard. (Though she and Tyger are not together, they’re friends but nothing more, though neither of them know that the other is actually harboring feelings for them.) 

They take Alex on all sorts of trips and outings. One of Alex’s favorite things to do is splash his parents in the pool or during bath time, he also likes to run, not walk and loves music of any kind, put on anything with a beat and Alex will enjoy it and find a way to dance to it.

On Alex’s first birthday the two of them decide to just have a small celebration at Olivia’s home with just the 3 of them, Tyger buys Alex a cake with cartoon characters from a mortal age children’s t.v. program, that Alex loves. It’s very extravagant and over the top for a one year old, but Tyger insists on nothing but the best for Alex, even if ti means going over the top, his little boy is more than worth it. 

Tyger had wanted to light the candles and have Alex blow them out first thing that morning, when he arrived with the cake and Alex’s present, but Olivia insisted they wait until exactly 3:04 P.M., which is the time that Alex was born. 

They spend the morning and most of the afternoon playing with Alex, letting him open his presents and looking back at pictures of him from when he was much smaller. 

When 3:04 finally rolls around, after Olivia has given Alex about a million kisses and told him she loves him so much about a million thousand times, Tyger lights the candles on the cake and takes Alex into his arms to help him blow the candles out, while Olivia watches from beside him.

Being a typical toddler Alex almost gives his parents about a million heart attacks when he continuously tries to grab the flames on the candles. In the end, Tyger blows the candles out for him, and is rewarded by the biggest smile he has ever seen Alex give, and the sound of Alex’s infectious giggle. It warms his heart to hear and see his son so happy, and in this moment he doesn’t think he himself could be happier either. 

Tyger kisses Alex on the cheek, before turning to smile brightly at Olivia, unbelievably feeling grateful that she of all people, is the mother of his child. 

“You okay?” Olivia asks, after Tyger has been staring to her for a few seconds, smiling like an idiot. At this he smiles even wider and lets out a laugh of pure delight. 

“I love you.” And then he leans in and kisses her.


	3. Part 3.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 17 years after going off grid with her baby son, Olivia Kwon, formerly known as Scythe Ayn Rand, decides it's time to tell her son the truth of how he came to be, and the life he could have ended up with.
> 
> Meanwhile in Midmerica, 17 year old Sophie Faraday-Curie is questioning whether she wants to train as a Scythe and become High Blade one day, as is her birth right. She is terrified of upsetting and disappointing the world, who have had eyes on her since she was born. 
> 
> Will the first child meant to inherit the title of High Blade from their parent, actually do so? Or will she choose a different life completely?

It is a warm Spring day in March, year of The Chinchilla, 17 years after the Midmerican Scythedom were rocked by the loss of their High Blade Scythe Robert Goddard, when the woman formerly known as Scythe Ayn Rand, is faced with the conversation she has dreaded for the past 17 years.

Just last week Olivia Kwon and Tyger Salazar’s son Alexander, turned 17.

That day was also 16 years since Olivia and Tyger tried to make things work with eachother, they dated on and off throughout Alex’s early childhood, and though there was and is no doubt that they truly love eachother, after what Olivia did to Tyger, while she was Scythe Rand, he will never be truly able to trust her again, and as such would never be able to be in a long term relationship with her. 

Despite this, they remained friends and were and are always a team when it comes to Alex and his upbringing, which is the best he could’ve possibly asked for, though now as he is getting older he’s finding his mother to be too protective and a little suffocating, he knows she means well and he loves her with all his heart, but he’s almost an adult now, he feels like he needs some space. 

Olivia knows this, she can see much of herself at that age, in Alex (Though thankfully he doesn’t so far seem to have her temper and angry disposition.) and on this warm Spring day, she decides it’s time to give Alex the truth of his early life and how he came to be. 

Standing in the doorway to his bedroom, watching him absorbed in a drawing he’s been working on for the last few days, Olivia almost wants to forget about this conversation and let Alex continue to live in blissful ignorance, let him innocently believe that he was conceived like any other child, that he was wanted because a child is a gift to many people, not because the man who was technically his father, wanted to use him as a weapon.

But she knows she can’t, Alex deserves to know the truth about everything and he’s old enough now to understand and comprehend it all. Olivia just hopes he doesn’t hate her.

Pushing aside her fears as she has learned to do over the last 17 years, Olivia knocks lightly on Alex’s door. 

Alex looks up from his drawing, his dark brown hair falling into his eyes, his face lighting up with a smile when he sees his mother. 

“Hi mom!” Alex says in a bright tone, setting his pencil down and pushing his hair back. Olivia’s heart aches with how much she loves him, and she wishes she could turn back time just for an hour or two, to when Alex was a baby and it was just the two of them against the world, for the first month of his life. 

“Hi, what are you working on?” Olivia asks, nodding at his sketchpad. Alex’s eyes light up as they always do when someone asks him about his art. 

“A piece of the portfolio I gotta submit to colleges, I’m almost done my whole portfolio!” Alex proudly tells her, holding his head high. He’s had a big interest in art since he was old enough to hold a pencil, he recently made the choice to go to an art school and get his degree in art and art history, then maybe he could be a teacher himself, or he could be hired by someone famous like a Scythe, to do a portrait for them. 

“It looks really good.” Olivia tells him with a smile. “Listen, Alex, now that you’re 17 I need to talk to you about some things, about your early life and why... why we’re so secluded and why I came here from MideMerica, to raise you.” 

“Oh... um... okay.” Alex shrugs, having always wondered about his mom’s life before him, and he’s been curious as to why she has hardly any friends and dreads parent-teacher meetings as his school, it’ll be good to get some answers. 

With a sigh, Olivia sits on the edge of Alex’s bed, while he stays where he is in the chair at his desk. 

“Okay, so this is a pretty long story and you’ll find out I did some pretty awful things before I had you, just bare with me until the end then you can ask any questions you want, and no matter what you feel about me or your dad, or anything about this situation, it’s okay, alright?” Olivia asks, looking her son dead in the eye, having always made sure he knows he has a right to feel his emotions and express them, and he should never push them down like she did at his age. 

“Okay.” 

“To start off with, I’m going to tell you something pretty shocking, something that only your dad knows and no one else in our lives knows.

I haven’t always gone by Olivia Kwon, from the time I was 17 until I was 25, I was known as Honorable Scythe Ayn Rand. 

I apprenticed with Honorable Scythe Robert Goddard, when I was your age and was his Junior Scythe for 8 years, his right-hand woman. 

I know you know about him, you learned about him at school, about me too though you didn’t know at the time that I use to be Scythe Rand. So you know we were both pretty awful people, and I hate to say it now, but for those 8 years I had a major crush on Goddard, I thought I was totally and utterly in love with him.

You know how he was killed the first time... and how he was revived, but one thing about that that you don’t know is... that the ‘donor’ body I selected... was actually your dad, because he was close to Rowan Damisch, the boy who killed Goddard the first time, and almost killed me. I... I chose him so I could and would hurt Rowan, and get back at him. 

Thing is though, I fell in love with your dad during the time I was training him, I really loved him, not in the way I thought I loved Goddard. 

As you know about 18 years ago, Goddard was elected High Blade of Midmerica, the first new High Blade after the 9th Commandment was lifted for Scythes and we were allowed to get married and have kids. He was also the first High Blade who would pass the title down to his child, when the time came. 

So shortly after he was elected he started looking for surrogates so he could have a child, an heir. When I found out about this and he told me he was struggling to find the right candidate I... I offered to be his surrogate. He laughed it off at first but I conceived him, told him that I was the ideal candidate, we shared the same values and beliefs and we could make a strong child together. So... we did.

With lots of help from doctors to make our chances as high as possible, we did one round of artificial insemination, and 2 weeks later I found out I was pregnant... with you.

At first I was indifferent to the pregnancy, Goddard was thrilled of course, he was going to have his heir. 

I didn’t start feeling anything about the pregnancy until I was four months, and saw you clearly for the first time at an ultrasound, I could see your hands and feet and see you moving around inside me, and I got to hear your heartbeat. That’s when I started forming a bond with you and becoming attached to you. I tried so hard not to, tried to remind myself I wasn’t your mom just doing Goddard a favor. 

But then... then I felt you kick for the first time and you responded to my voice, and I just felt this huge rush of love for you that was so beyond intense, I couldn’t believe it, but again I tried to push those feelings away, not because I didn’t love you but because I _did_ love you and I knew it would hurt like hell to hand you over to Goddard, if I bonded with you. 

I couldn’t stop myself though, how could I when we were together 24/7, I felt your every move and shift of position, you heard everything I heard, ate everything I ate, went everywhere I went, it was impossible not to bond with you.

Throughout my pregnancy Goddard was always raging on about what a prodigy you would be and how you would be the best Scythe in the world, and would carry on and uphold his legacy. 

It was when I was 8 months pregnant that I had enough. Goddard took me to a mass gleaning at a Tonist Cloister, as a way of saying thank you, for carrying his child for the past 8 months. Looking back now I of course know how obscene and evil that sounds, but back then I thought nothing of it. 

During that mass gleaning Goddard started spouting his usual crap about how his reign would never end, and that you would carry on his beliefs and values, uphold the New Order and would show no mercy to The Tonists either. 

And then... then I just snapped and before I could even fully comprehend it, I had my knife in his heart and he was dead again.

I told the Tonists to tell everyone that unsavories had killed Goddard and burned his body, and I threatened to glean them if they didn’t. 

After that I got straight into a public car intent on getting as far away from MidMerica as I could, I was thinking of leaving the Mericas altogether, but then I had this awful pain in my stomach and then my waters broke. The stress of the day put me into labor.

The rest you know, I had you in MidMerica, and the moment I held you and saw you I knew I couldn’t be Scythe Rand anymore, that I had to get you away from The Scythedom and those who would expect you to be just like Goddard.

So I changed my name back to my birth name, cut my hair, put on street clothes and with just you, and my robes and ring in a bag, I left for Texas where I would be off-grid, and I had your dad revived.

Like I said, the rest you know.” 

Unsurprisingly there is a tense silence in the room for a few minutes, before Alex finally speaks up. 

“I... I’m glad you’re not Scythe Rand anymore.” He quietly says, surprising his mother who expected him to rage and yell and tell her he hates her, etc. 

“Me too kid, me too.” She says, reaching out to squeeze his hand lovingly. 

“so... you really did a total 180... because of _me_?” Alex asks in an unsure tone, hardly able to believe that he had such a great impact on someone. Olivia nods. 

“I did, I wanted to give you your best chance at life and I knew to do that, I would either have to change my ways or place you for adoption, and there was no way I was letting you go, so I chose the other option and changed, I destroyed my ring when you were a month old and the last person I ever gleaned was Goddard.” Olivia explains. 

“So... does this mean Goddard is my biological dad?” Alex questions, tilting his head to the side. Olivia shakes her head. 

“No, it was your dad’s body, with Goddard’s head. Your dad’s name is on your Birth Certificate and he is your biological father, but if Goddard were alive today he would probably have legal rights to you.” Olivia sighs, grateful that she doesn’t have to worry about Goddard showing up and taking Alex from her. 

“Mom, can.... can we go to Midmerica for a while? So I can see where you’re from and where I was born and suppose to grow up, please?” Alex hopefully asks, looking at his mother with big and imploring brown eyes. 

Olivia is hesitant, she doesn’t want to be recognized by anyone in Midmerica, it’s why she never want back after Alex was born. However after a minute of thinking, she decides she can’t deny Alex this very simple request.

“Yeah, yeah of course we can.”

So a few days later the two of them board a train and head for MideMerica, completely unaware of the destiny they are about to face.

______________________________________________________________

Meanwhile in Midmerica, 16 year old Sophie Faraday-Curie accompanies her mother to the local museum in Fulcrum City, so Sophie can gather some information for a history project for school, and so her mother can gather some information she needs for a meeting with the other High Blades of the other regions of the Mericas. 

Sophie usually hates going out in public, because of all the attention she gets. As the first child born to two Scythes Sophie is pretty famous and despite her parents best effort to keep her out of the spotlight and give her an ordinary childhood and life, she is still recognized practically everywhere she goes, which results in a lot of staring and whispering from the people around her.

However when Sophie is with her mom or dad, people tend to stare less, they know how protective High Blade Curie and Honorable Scythe Faraday are of their daughter, and have no doubt either of them would not hesitate to glean anyone who upset or bothered their daughter, so it’s easier for Sophie to be out and about when she has one of her parents with her.

What bugs her the most is that technically she’s not actually the first child born to two Scythes, Honorable Scythe Rand had been due to give birth to Honorable Scythe Goddard’s child two months before Sophie was born, but after Goddard was killed by unsavories, a heavily pregnant Rand disappeared and no one has seen her or the baby she was carrying, in 17 years.

But non of that is really at the fore-front of Sophie’s mind right now, she is totally taken in by her surroundings the minute she and her mother step into the museum, there’s so much to learn and see and though Sophie has visited here often, there is always something new.

As she looks around her while walking toward the section she needs to go to, Sophie is not paying attention to where she is going and soon feels herself collide with something, or rather some _one._ They both immediately crash to the ground, Sophie cursing herself for being so clumsy and not looking where she’s going, while the other person yells in surprise. 

“Oh I’m so sorry! I’m such an idiot, not looking where I was going!” Sophie apologizes, pushing herself off the floor and holding her hand out to help the person she collided with, a young boy around her age with messy dark brown hair, light brown skin and wide and inquisitive brown eyes.

“No it’s okay I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going either.” The boy says, grabbing Sophie’s hand letting her haul him to his feet.

Before either of them can say anything else, Marie comes up behind Sophie holding a leaflet and smiling softly.

“Soph I just found some physical copies of the statement your dad and I put out to the world when you were born, it’s not very long but it’s got some photos of you as a baby that I thought you’d like to see.” Marie says in a soft, reminiscent tone, brushing her daughter’s hair out of her eyes, remembering writing this article with Michael like it was yesterday. It had taken them almost a week to write just two paragraphs because Sophie was so fussy and wouldn’t let them put her down for more than five minutes at a time.

Before Sophie can reply, a tall willowy woman with dark hair and pan-Asian leanings comes up behind the boy Sophie just collided with. She puts a hand on the boy’s shoulder and smiles at him, and is clearly about to say something to him, but before she can, Marie speaks up.

“Rand? Scythe Ayn Rand?” Marie gasps in disbelief, staring at the woman in front of her. She looks different from the last time Marie saw her, her long dark hair is now cut short to just above her shoulders, the black is streaked through with some gray and she clearly looks older, but she is still instantly recognizable. 

Olivia/Rand immediately pales and is about to put up a fight and tell Marie that she’s mistaken, but then she realizes she made a silent promise to both herself and Alex that there would be no more lying and no more keeping secrets. 

“Wait, are you High Blade Curie? High Blade of here, of Midmerica?” the boy asks in a tone of excitement. Marie smiles at his excitement. 

“Yes dear, I am." she softly says. She then turns her gaze to Rand/Olivia, her smile faltering. “I think we better have a conversation, Miss Rand. Sophie you stay here, don’t go anywhere.” 

“You too Alex, don’t wander off you don’t know the place and might get lost.” Olivia warns her son, before reluctantly following Marie to a quiet section of the museum. 

The two teenagers look at eachother in confusion, not quiet sure what to say or what just happened. 

“So... what’s going on?” Sophie asks a few seconds later. Alex shrugs. 

“Beats me. Was that your mom, the High Blade?” Alex asks curiously. Sophie nods. 

“Yeah, was the other lady your mom?” Sophie asks. 

“Yep, though her name’s not actually Ayn Rand, it’s Olivia Kwon.” Alex tells her. 

“My mom’s not actually called Marie Curie either, well she has been for the last 200 odd years, but her birth name’s Susan, Susan Goldie. I’m Sophie by the way, Sophie Faraday-Curie.” Sophie explains, sticking her hand out for Alex to shake. He grins and grabs her hand. 

“I’m Alexander, Alexander Kwon, but you can call me Alex.” They shake hands. 

“Nice to meet you Alex.” Sophie grins. 

“Likewise. Hey, so your dad’s super famous too right? What’s his name again, Fara something?” Alex asks, racking his brain for the name of the High Blade’s husband. 

“Faraday, Scythe Michael Faraday. Yeah he’s pretty famous too, my whole family is. My Aunt- well she’s not technically my aunt, it’s honorary but you know what I mean- she’s Scythe Anastasia, and my other honorary aunt, my Aunt Munira, she used to work with my dad when he was trying to find the founding Scythe’s fail safe plan, when Goddard became High Blade.” Sophie hurriedly tells Alex, always eager to talk about her odd yet interesting family. 

“And you’re pretty famous yourself, must be cool.” Alex grins. Sophie shrugs, shoving her hands in her pockets. 

“It’s okay I guess, it gets annoying when I go out in public and everyone recognizes me and stares at me in the streets and stuff, I don’t even know how they recognize me when I’m not with my parents, those baby pictures mom and dad put out when I was born, they’re the only pictures of me that have ever been published, and I never went to public appearances with mom or anything, and during Conclave, when I was younger I would stay with my Aunt Munira all day.” Sophie’s tone turns from sullen and irritated to bright and joyful in just a matter of seconds, despite the annoying fame and always being recognized, Sophie has had a perfectly happy childhood. 

Alex nods understandingly. 

“Hey I know our moms told us not to go anywhere but do you want to go grab a coffee or something in the café in the lobby and then come back here?” Alex asks, finding himself wanting to talk to Sophie more, be around her more. Sophie’s face lights up. 

“Sure! Hey, wanna bet? I bet you I’ll get recognized at least 3 times on the way to and from the café, and in the café. If I do, you pay for the coffees, if I don’t, I pay.” Sophie suggests, giving Alex a sly smile and looking around to make sure her mom isn’t in hearing distance. 

Alex laughs, liking Sophie more and more by the minute. 

“You’re on!”

While Sophie and Alex are talking and sneaking off to the café, Olivia is facing her worst nightmare, standing here in front of High Blade Curie having been recognized right away, with Alex off on his own with some random girl. Olivia is glad that Alex just came out to her as gay, otherwise she would worry that Curie’s daughter would break his heart. 

“I think you’ve got some explaining to do.” Marie tells Olivia, her tone firm and not much different to the one she uses with Sophie when she knows she’s been up to something she shouldn’t have been. 

“I knew I should never have left Texas.” Olivia sighs. “Look Marie, it’s a long story. The short of it is that when I was pregnant with Alex I started bonding with him and loving him, I didn’t expect to but I did_” Before she can finish, Marie cuts her off. 

“Of course you loved and bonded with him, he is your child, a child you were going to just hand over to Goddard and let him turn him into a monster!” She berates, which grates on Olivia’s nerves. It takes everything she has not to snap at Marie, she knows nothing about her situation or why she agreed to be Goddard’s surrogate in the first place.

“Oh don’t act all high and mighty like you’ve never made mistakes! I thought I was in love with Goddard, I just wanted him to love me back and I thought by having his kid I could do that, I never gave much thought to how he would raise Alex, not at first anyway. 

Throughout my pregnancy though I did start to realize what a stupid and selfish decision I had made, by the time I was 8 months along I knew I couldn’t just hand Alex over to Goddard, so you know what I did, Marie? I gleaned the bastard and I told the Tonists to spread that lie about him being killed by unsavories.

I gleaned him and used his body to revive Tyger, the man I gleaned a year prior to bring Goddard back. But before I did that I gave birth to my son, alone and frightened, you had your husband with you when you gave birth, I had no one and for the first month of his life it was just me and Alex, and the minute I held him after he was born I knew I had to change, had to get away and give him the best upbringing I could, so I cut my hair, stopped wearing my robes, took nothing but one old pair or robes so nobody could trace me using them, my ring, my son and I left for Texas.

And it was the best thing I have ever done, I turned my whole life around for Alex and I gave him a fucking amazing upbringing, he’s an absolutely amazing kid and I am so proud of him and so goddamn honored to his mom.

So there, Marie, there’s your explanation.” 

Despite Olivia’s angry rant, Marie remains totally calm and levelheaded, as always. 

“That is all well and good Ayn, but a Scythe cannot just up and abandon their position.” She calmly says. 

“Well what was I suppose to do Marie, huh? I was 8 months pregnant with the future High Blade of Midmerica, I had just killed the current High Blade of Midmerica and I was totally alone in the world.” Olivia’s tone is turning tight and she is doing her best to hold back tears. 

“You could have come to me and explained your situation, I would have helped you.” Marie softly says. 

“No because I didn’t want Alex involved in the Scythedom as he grew up, I wanted him to have a peaceful and normal childhood, I didn’t want any of Goddard’s followers to try and influence him or tell him about the bastard who was at the time, his father. 

You have to understand, you’re a mother too, don’t act like if you were in my situation, you wouldn’t have done the same for you daughter.” At the mention of Sophie, Marie’s face and demeanor soften. 

“You’re right, I would do anything for my Sophie, if I had to go off grid to give her the best life and to protect her, I would.

I won’t tell anyone you were here or that you’re living in Texas, and I won’t tell anyone about your son either, I promise.” Marie tells her, unable to stay angry at her because she knows how she feels, she would do anything to give Sophie her best shot at life, luckily, though Marie’s pregnancy was a surprise it was a very welcome one, and she Michael were in a good position to have a baby and raise Sophie, but not everyone is so fortunate. 

_______________________________________________________________

Over the next couple of weeks Sophie and Alex remain in touch via social media and often hang out together, soon growing very close and become the very best of friends. 

One day, a month after meeting for the first time, Alex insists on taking Sophie for lunch to celebrate her birthday, and Sophie is thrilled to spend the day with him. After lunch they just ramble around town, and end up sitting on the steps to the library, enjoying the good weather and each other’s company. 

“So what do you wanna do after school? What job do you want to do?” Alex asks Sophie, leaning back on his elbows and tilting his head backward to look up at his friend who is sitting on the step just behind him, where there’s more shade, since she is not a fan of the heat. Sophie sighs. 

“The whole world expects me to be a Scythe, I _am_ the heir to the MidMeircan Scythedom. I’ll be expected to drop out of school soon and start my apprenticeship, neither of my parents are by law allowed to be my mentor, but my Aunt Anastasia said she’ll take me on, she was mentored by both my parents at one point, so there’ll be elements of mom and dad’s training in there. 

But... the thing is Al, I don’t think I want to be a Scythe, I’ve learned a lot about the Sycthedom and how it works and I know the best Scythes are the ones who never wanted the position in the first place, but I know I’m never going to morally be able to be a Scythe. 

He doesn’t know it but sometimes I see my dad come back from a gleaning and he just... he breaks down crying, and my mom sits there with him and holds his hand and assures him he’s a good person and she loves him, and I don’t look down on dad for that, not one bit, but the thing is he’s always able to remind himself that he is doing a necessary task and doing it in the kindest way possible. But I don’t think I could ever do that, I’m not like my mom or dad in that way, I... I’m too empathetic and I could never know a moment’s peace as a Scythe.” By the end of her explanation Sophie has tears in her eyes and her throat is closing up, this always happens when she thinks about her future. 

“Oh Soph, it’s okay.” Alex soothingly says, pushing himself up one step so he’s beside Sophie and pulling her in for a hug. “Can’t you tell your mom and dad all this? They seem like really nice people, I’m sure they’ll understand.” Sophie sniffs and lays her head on Alex’s shoulder. 

“I could, and they would understand, I know they won’t be angry or anything, they’ve never raised their voices at me in all my life, they’re awesome parents. But... I’m scared they’ll be disappointed and I’m scared of how the public and the rest of the Scythedom will react, I’m suppose to be the first person to ever inherit the title of High Blade, if I step down from that people are probably going to be really really pissed off with me, no one can glean me obviously, I automatically have immunity as the kid of two Scythes, but still... I don’t want to be called to Endura and have to face the Grandslayers or something.” She tells him in a wobbly tone.

“Hey if anyone tries to mess with you they’ll have me to deal with, you’re my best friend Soph, I got your back no matter what happens.” Alex firmly tells her, pulling back from the hug so he can look her in the eye. Sophie smiles through her tears and squeezes Alex’s hand. 

“Thanks Al, I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

“So.” Sophie begins, wiping her tears away. “What do you want to do after you leave school?” 

“Well up until now I always thought I’d be an artist, I’ve always planned on going to art school and I still do, but I... I kind of want to learn more about The Scythedom and my past, in detail, not just what mom can tell me.

But... I’m scared that my interest in the Scythedom means I’m fucking evil like Goddard, he loved gleaning, he was a serial killer not a Scythe. I know there’s no biological connection between him and me, but.... I mean he was around mom practically all the time when she was pregnant. She said that he would talk to me when she was pregnant, but instead of telling me stories like normal dads would, he would talk about what a great Scythe and ruler I’d be someday and how I would make him so proud and uphold his legacy and other crazy shit. 

What if... what if that impacted little fetus me, and affected my subconscious and now I _am_ going to be the crazy evil dictator he wanted me to be?” Now Alex has tears in his eyes too. 

“Oh Lex, no there’s no way you’re like Goddard. You’re the sweetest, kindest and most wonderful person I’ve ever met, you used your savings to buy me a really nice birthday present when you’ve only known me a month, you took me out for lunch for my birthday, and you always listen when I need to talk. And I know you value life and care about others, unlike Goddard. Alex you literally won’t even harm a fly, the other day you cried because we saw a little kid get upset because they fell and scrapped their knee. 

You could never be like Goddard, Alex, never.” By this stage Sophie has taken Alex’s face in her hands to make him laugh, but also to make him listen to her and not get distracted. She wants him to know all this, and realize what an absolutely amazing person he is.

Alex laughs through his tears and playfully slaps Sophie’s hands away. 

“Get off me you goof.” He laughs, wiping at his tears. Sophie grins and lightly shoves his shoulder. 

“You love me really.” 

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

________________________________________________________________

The next day, after thinking about her conversation with Alex, all night, Sophie comes to a decision and asks her parents to talk, so she can tell them about it.

“You’re going to hate me for asking this but I need peace of mind before we get into this conversation so I have to ask, are you going to tell us you’re pregnant?” Michael asks Sophie, after they sit down, knowing this will embarrass her but needing to know.

Sophie wrinkles her nose up. 

“No dad! I’m asexual, remember?” Sophie says in an exasperated and embarrassed tone. She had come out to her parents just last week and they were extremely supportive, and acted like it was no big deal at all, for which Sophie is very grateful.

Michael holds his hands up in mock surrender. 

“Just checking, I’m too young to be a grandpa!” Sophie gives him a ‘Are you kidding me?’ look. 

“Dad you’re like 300.” She laughs. 

“230 something actually, do I look old enough to be 300?” He asks, raising his eyebrows and making Sophie roll her eyes, no one else would believe that the legendary Honorable Scythe Faraday is _such_ a dad and makes stupid jokes and comments to mess with his daughter.

“Yeah I can see why Aunt Munira told me not to listen to your jokes.” Sophie replies. “Anyway, can I tell you what I wanted to now?” 

“Of course dear, go ahead.” Marie encourages her. Sophie takes a deep breath. 

“Okay, so... you know how we were talking about me training to be a Scythe, the other day, with Aunt Anastasia, and how I got all those offers from other Scythes, offering to train me?” Sophie begins. Both her parents nod. “Well I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and I talked about it with Alex and.... I don’t want to be a Scythe, I know the best Scythes are always the ones who never wanted to do it in the first place, but I won’t be able to live with myself if I become a Scythe, I won’t be able to deal with it like you guys and Aunt Anastasia. 

I would never be able to sleep at night if I gleaned someone, couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. My life would a misery if I did. 

So... that’s it, I don’t want to be a Scythe and I don’t want to be High Blade.” 

Before Sophie can even take a breath after finishing her explanation, her mother is by her side and pulling her into a tight embrace, kissing her forehead while her dad puts his arm around her shoulders and kisses the top of her head. 

“We love you and support you no matter what.” Marie firmly says, cupping Sophie’s face in her hands. 

“You never have to do anything you don’t want to Soph, never.” Michael tells her in a loving but firm tone, squeezing her arm reassuringly. Sophie can’t stop the tears from welling up and running down her cheeks. 

“Oh my love what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Marie softly asks in a concerned tone, wiping at her daughter’s tears. 

“Because I’m scared.” Sophie says in a tight voice, feeling as though she’s 10 years old again and just woke up from a bad dream.

“Of what, did something happen, did someone hurt you?” Michael asks, his tone also full of concern and worry for his baby girl. 

“No, I’m scared the Scythedom and the public are gonna hate me for not becoming a Scythe and inheriting the title of High Blade like I’m suppose to. All my life I’ve known that the public and The Scythedom have this huge expectation of me to become High Blade, to become an amazing Scythe like you guys, but I can’t do that and now I’m scared everyone’s going to hate me, or that the Grandslayers are going to call me to Endura and punish me somehow.” Sophie sobs, the tears falling rapidly now.

“Oh my baby.” Marie swears she can feel her own heart breaking, as she pulls her daughter in for another hug. 

“Sophie we will never, _ever_ let anything happen to you. Nowhere in the rules does it say that you have to become a Scythe and take over from your mom when she steps down as High Blade, that rule means that if you choose to become a Scythe, you will automatically inherit your mother’s position, but if you choose not to become a Scythe then another election will be held and someone else will be elected. 

The Grandslayers cannot and will not punish you, and if anyone tries to hurt you or say anything nasty to you because of this decision, then they’ll have your mother and I to deal with. We are not going to let anyone hurt you or force you to do something you don’t want to. 

This is entirely your choice and we support you all the way, we love you so much Sophie, and we will do absolutely anything to protect you.” 

Her father’s kind and reassuring words just make Sophie sob even harder and bury her face in his shoulder, when he puts his arm around her in an embrace. 

“I love you so much.” Sophie quietly says. Michael kisses the top of her head and rubs her back soothingly. 

“I love you too Sophie, more than anything in this world. You and your mother are the very best things to ever happen to me.” 

“Here.” Marie softly says, holding a tissue out to Sophie, as she lifts her face from her dad’s shoulder and leans her head against his chest. “Have a good cry if you want to sweetheart, don’t bottle it up.” Sophie nods and wipes at her eyes. 

“Thanks mom, I love you.” She sniffles. Marie smiles and kisses her cheek. 

“I love you too my sweet girl.”

After about another half hour, Sophie calms down but has totally drained herself from crying so much, so decides to go rest in her room for a while. Once upstairs she texts Alex almost immediately and tells him what just happened and how her parents are going to help her make an official statement to the Grandslayers that she will not be training as a Scythe and will not be accepting her inheritance of position of High Blade of Midmerica.

“ _ **Glad your parents were supportive, I knew they would be, you’re gonna be awesome at whatever job you pick, I know it.**_

_**I told mom my news too, about wanting to stay here in Midmerica for longer, and learn more about the inner workings of the Scythedom and the life I could’ve ended up with, had mom not gleaned Goddard and gone off grid with me. She was conflicted at first, she doesn’t trust the Scythedom and is afraid Goddard’s supporters will try to influence me but I reminded her that I’m old enough to not be so easily swayed, and I’ve got lots of good examples of Scythes too. So she agreed. I dunno exactly how I’m gonna learn more about the inner workings of the Scythedom, but I’ll figure something out.”** _

After reading Alex’s text, Sophie is struct with an idea, one that she frankly finds ingenious. 

**_“I have an idea, a really good one. Come round to my house tomorrow at around 11.”_** Sophie replies. Then remembering she hasn’t told Alex her plan, she excitedly sends him a voice note, detailing her idea, and spends the next five minutes staring at her phone waiting for Alex to text back. 

**“Sounds like a plan, see you tomorrow.”**

The next day it has just gone 11 A.M. and Michael and Marie are just back from grocery shopping, when Sophie appears in the kitchen doorway, grinning proudly to herself and looking like she’s up to something. 

“What did you do?” Michael asks in a suspicious tone, looking around for any sign of something amiss. 

“Nothing, can’t I just come say hi to my parents?” Sophie asks, still grinning ear to ear. 

“You can but you’re usually not this enthusiastic at this time of the day, if you didn’t do anything, you want a big favor don’t you?” Michael asks, knowing his daughter perfectly. 

“Maaayybbee.” Sophie admits. 

“If the favor is letting you skip school tomorrow the answer is no.” Marie tells her. Sophie rolls her eyes. 

“I asked once, _once!_ Let it go mom!” She protests. 

“What is it then?” Michael asks, still suspicious of what Sophie is up to. Her smile brightens and she turns around and reaches out into the living room, before two seconds later pulling Alexander Kwon into the kitchen with her. Marie and Michael aren’t surprised to see him in their house, he’s Sophie’s best friend and comes around all the time, but what they don’t understand is what he’s got to do with Sophie wanting a favor. 

“Okay now I’m confused, what has Alex got to do with this?” Marie asks, wondering just what the hell her daughter is up to. 

“I have a proposal.” Sophie tells them, earning odd looks from both her parents. 

“Okay.... which is?” Michael asks. 

“Alex really wants to learn more about the inner workings of the Scythedom, he’s interested in how it all works and what it would have been like for him if things didn’t turn out the way they did. .

So I was thinking that maybe you guys could teach Alex everything there is to know about The Scythedom, like you taught me? It could be like an apprenticeship except he won’t go to Conclave and there’s no chance of him being ordained at the end of it all, oh and obviously no physical training or tests or anything. 

So what do you say?” Sophie explains, now having wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist, leaning against his chest, hugging him tightly.

Marie and Michael share a look. They can clearly see how much Sophie adores Alex, and they can’t deny she’s been so much happier since she met him and they became best friends, it’s so good for her to have someone who wants to be her friend and likes her just for her, and not her fame and status. 

It’s clear Alex is like the brother Sophie always wanted and asked for but never had. Marie and Michael do feel a bit guilty about not giving her a sibling, they would have loved to have another baby and even discussed it when Sophie was 1, but decided that ultimately they were far too busy and their family felt absolutely perfect with just the 3 of them.

Marie is the first to speak. 

“You really know how to argue your case Sophie, there’s no way I can say no.” Sophie and Alex’s faces both light up. 

“Thank you so much, Your Excellency, I promise I’ll be the best student you could ask for!” Alex exclaims. 

“Marie’s right, you’re a hell of a speaker Sophie, just like your mom. If it’s alright with your mother, Alex, then we’d be happy to teach you.” Michael calmly says. Sophie and Alex share an excited look and share a quick high-five. 

“Thank you, your Honor, thank you so much I swear you won’t regret this!” Alex promises. 

“Come on, lets go make sure it’s okay with your mom.” Sophie says. tugging at Alex’s hand. He nods, but turns to Marie and Michael before he goes. 

“Thank you again, so very much, it’s going to be an honor to learn from you both.” He says, then tentatively holds his hand out for one of them to shake. 

“Oh don’t be so formal Alex.” Marie says, lightly swatting his hand away and pulling him in for a hug instead. “Call me Marie.” She insists. Alex smiles and nods, a little shocked at what just happened. 

He then turns to Michael, and goes to hold his hand out for him to shake, thinking he may be a little more formal. Michael just laughs and shakes his head before also pulling Alex into an embrace. 

“Welcome to the family, son.”

**Special thanks to@i-love-side-characters over on Tumblr, for allowing me to use their idea of Sophie and Alex becoming best friends! I had so much fun writing about their friendship! **


	4. Chapter 4

It is a cold Autumn day in the year of the Chinchilla when Alex Kwon receives a phone call that changes everything forever. 

It’s been 6 months since he and Sophie Faraday-Curie met and became the very best of friends, over those 6 months they’ve become increasingly protective of one another, so when Alex answers the phone and hears Sophie crying, he immediately starts to worry. 

“Alex.” Sophie sobs down the line, the minute Alex picks up. 

“Sophie, what is it? What’s wrong?” He asks in a concerned tone. 

“Alex I missed my period again and the last couple of mornings I’ve been sick, and I’m putting on weight too.” Alex clearly remembers Sophie anxiously telling him last month that she missed her period for the first time. She did admit she had recently had unprotected sex, but she didn’t want to face the possibility that she could be pregnant, so they both brushed it off as a fluke. But now she’s having other symptoms and missed her period again, it really can’t be a fluke at this point. 

“Shit.” Alex swears. “You think you’re pregnant?” 

“Yeah.” Sophie sniffs. 

“Oh fuck.” It’s no wonder Sophie is so upset, for one thing she’s not ready to have a baby at 17, but for another the father of the baby, the only person she’s ever slept with, was gleaned last month. Sophie didn’t love him or anything so it wasn’t absolutely devastating, but it was still hard for her, as all deaths are since she’s an empath, and now she’s going to have his baby. 

“Can you buy me a pregnancy test? I’ll send you the money, I just... I can’t be seen buying a test, people recognize me and I don’t want word getting back to mom and dad before I can tell them myself.” Sophie quietly and hopefully asks, running a hand through her hair. 

“Yeah, yeah of course.” Alex immediately agrees. “Do you want come over to my place to take it? My mom’s out for a few hours, and I’m not going to dad’s till tomorrow, so you’ll have more privacy here.” 

“Yes please.” Sophie sniffs, wiping at her tears. 

“Okay, meet you at my place in about 20 minutes?”

“Okay.” 

About 25 minutes later, Sophie finds herself standing in Alex’s en-suite bathroom, turning an un-opened pregnancy test over and over in her hands.

“Are you sure your mom won’t be back anytime soon?” She wearily asks Alex. 

“Yeah I’m sure.” Alex assures her. Sophie nods and takes a breath. 

“Okay, can you wait outside while I take this, then?” 

“Of course, good luck.” Alex squeezes her hand before going back out into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. 

Sophie lets out a shaky breath and pulls open the cardboard box, making sure to put in her bag and not Alex’s bin, doing the same when she rips the plastic wrapping from the test. She then takes the cap off, places it beside the sink and shoves the test between her legs, holding it there for the 8 required seconds. Once that’s done, she puts the cap back on and places it beside the sink, washes her hands and sets the timer for 2 minutes on her phone.

After a few seconds of waiting she realizes she doesn’t want to do it alone, and goes out to the room to wait with Alex.

“Well?” He asks, as she sits down to next to him. 

“I dunno yet, I have to wait 2 minutes and I don’t want to wait alone.” 

So they wait together, for 2 minutes, before Sophie’s alarm goes off.

“Come with me?” She hopefully asks Alex, after turning her phone alarm off. 

“Of course.” He slips his hand into hers and they walk into the bathroom together. As they near the sink, Sophie’s grip on his hand tightens. She takes a deep breath, then looks straight down at the test. 

_‘Pregnant.’_

Sophie can’t hold back her sobs, and Alex immediately wraps her in a tight embrace.

“It’s okay.” Alex quietly says. “I’m here, I love you and I support you no matter what.” 

“Can I stay here a while longer? To think about my options and stuff?” Sophie weakly asks. 

“Of course.” 

A few minutes later they once again go back into the bedroom. At Sophie’s request Alex turns his TV on and selects something at random to watch. They lie on the bed together, Sophie’s long blonde hair splayed across the pillow and her face scrunched up in concentration as she does research on options, on her phone.

They stay like this for about 2 hours, before Sophie puts her phone down and turns to Alex.

“I made up my mind, I want to place my baby for adoption, open adoption. I’m not ready to be a mom but I do want to carry this baby and choose their parents for them.” She quietly explains. Alex places his hand over hers. 

“I support you, I’m here every step of the way, I’ll even help you look for parents if you want.” He tells her. 

“Will you be with me when I have the baby?” She hopefully asks, unable to think of a better birth partner than her best friend. 

“Absolutely.” Alex agrees immediately. It will be hard seeing Sophie in so much pain, but it’s part of his job as her best friend, to be there for the big moments like this. 

“Thanks for being the best friend in the whole world, I love you.” Sophie softly says, moving in to hug Alex. 

“Ditto.” 

After another hour or so, Sophie decides to head home. On her walk there, she decides she wants to tell her parents now, instead of trying to hide the pregnancy until she just can’t anymore, she trusts her parents and has never kept anything from them before, she doesn’t want to start now.

When she arrives home, she leaves her bag in her room, then goes in search of her parents, hoping they’re home. Being High blade means her mom gets called out all the time for lots of reasons, so there’s a high chance just her dad is here.

However she soon finds them both in the kitchen, her mom cooking something at the stove and her dad standing behind her mom, his hands on her waist as he leans in to say something that makes her laugh. Sophie can so easily picture them 18 years ago when they were expecting her, they always tell her how excited and thrilled they were when they found out she was on the way, she wishes her own pregnancy were such a happy occasion.

Her dad is the first to spot her, lingering in the doorway.

“Ah we were wondering if you were ever going to come home again, I hope you didn’t get Alex into any trouble.” He teases, knowing how mischievous Sophie is, she looks so sweet and innocent, but she’s far from it, she and the very quiet and shy Alex make an odd team, but they also make sense. 

“Oh Michael leave her alone.” Marie admonishes, turning to smile at her daughter, quietly noting the tear tracks on her face, trying not to let fear and worry for her daughter get the best of her. 

“A-are you guys busy?” Sophie asks, her voice hoarse. 

“Never too busy for you dear.” Marie softly says. 

“Can we talk, please? I have to tell you something.” 

“Of course, what is it?” Marie asks, taking a seat at the kitchen table and gesturing for her husband and daughter to join her. 

Sophie had planned to beat around the bush a little before telling her parents the truth, but when she sits down across from them, her nerves get the better of her and her plan goes out the window.

“I’m pregnant.” Sophie blurts out, wincing at how the words sound. 

There is a tense silence for a moment, before Michael speaks up.

“Is it Alex’s?” He asks in a toneless voice. Sophie shakes her head. 

“No, Alex and I are friends, best friends, but nothing else. It’s always been that way and it will always be that way, and besides, he’s gay.” 

“Well then who is the father? And is he going to be involved? I hope he knows I’m not about to sit back and let the boy who knocked up my daughter, just walk away from the situation.” Marie’s tone is firm with more than a hint of anger. 

“It’s no one you know, just a guy from school I had a bit of a fling with, we weren’t even really together, just went on a few dates, and obviously slept together. But no, he won’t be involved, he can’t be.” Sophie tells them, cringing slightly when she notices anger flash in her mother’s eyes. 

“Is that what he told you? He can’t? That, my dear, is absolute bullshit. Who is this boy? I want to speak to him.” 

“No mom, you don’t understand!” Sophie protests. 

“Oh I understand perfectly well Sophia Amelia, don’t think you’re off the hook, I’m very disappointed in you but we’ll talk about that in a minute.” Before her mother can start lecturing her again, Sophie interrupts her

“He can’t be involved because he’s dead, he was gleaned a few weeks ago, by Scythe Madison.” 

The anger in Marie’s expressions is immediately replaced with shock and guilt.

“Oh.” She quietly says. “Oh Sophie I’m so sorry, I would never have asked had I known.” She reaches over to cover her daughter’s hand with her own. Sophie shrugs. 

“It’s fine, it’s not like we were madly in love or anything.” 

“Are you going to keep the baby?” Michael asks, speaking for the first time in a few minutes. 

“I’m going to have the baby and then place them for adoption, I want to carry and bring this baby into the world myself, and choose their parents myself. I’m not fit to be a mom or raise a baby, but I want to do something for them, even if it’s just carrying them and giving birth to them myself, instead of letting The Thunderhead incubate the baby and place them with the right family.” 

“Well, as your mother said earlier, I am disappointed in you Sophie. You were taught better than to have unprotected sex when you aren’t ready for a child, there are a lot of options for protection out there, it was very irresponsible of you not to use any of them.” Michael calmly says, looking his daughter straight in the eye. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” Sophie admits. 

“And I think I can speak for your father as well as myself when I say we aren’t thrilled about the pregnancy, we’re not mad or angry but disappointed.” Marie adds in. 

“That being said.” Michael starts, his tone still very calm. “You’re choice to place the baby for adoption is a very mature one, and responsible, and for that I’m proud of you. We will support you every step of the way through this, you’re our daughter and we’re always going to love and support you.” 

Sophie feels as though a weight has been lifted off her chest, she was so worried her parents would be furious with her for making such a big mistake. It is a relief beyond words to have their support.

Over the next few months, Sophie does her very best to hide her pregnancy, as the daughter of The High-Blade, a teen pregnancy would cause a lot of scandal and drama, and would lead to people questioning her mother and father’s parenting skills. They both made it clear that Sophie absolutely did not have to hide her pregnancy, they didn’t care what people said about them they just want her to be happy, but Sophie wanted and wants to keep this pregnancy as quiet as possible.

She does manage to hide the pregnancy, right up until 5 months. 

On a warm day in March, when Sophie is meant to be studying for school but gets distracted reading about her parents history, online, her phone suddenly starts to buzz continuously with notification alerts. 

With a confused frown Sophie turns away from her laptop and picks up her phone, her eyes widening when she unlocks it and sees the screen filled with notifications of people tagging her in posts on social media. She clicks through the first one and is brought to twitter. What she sees when the post loads makes her heart sink into her stomach.

The post has been made by Caroline Thatcher-Edison, daughter of Scythes Margaret Thatcher and Thomas Edison, she’s 1 year Sophie’s junior and does not like her at all, Sophie’s mom says it’s because Caroline is jealous of Sophie’s fame as the first child born to two Scythes. (Although, technically Alex is the first, being a month older than Sophie, but since he was off grid for most of his life, the title still belongs to Sophie.) 

Caroline has posted a picture of Sophie standing outside her home here at Fallingwater, in the picture Sophie is in the process of zipping up a baggy jacket, but with it unzipped you can clearly see her perfectly round stomach, under her white t-shirt. 

_**‘Look what I found in the Thunderhead’s back-brain!’**_ The caption reads. ‘ ** _Seems like little miss perfect @SophieFaraday-Curie isn’t so perfect after all.’_**

“No.” Sophie quietly says, shaking her head in disbelief. “Oh no no no!” She opens up the other notifications to find that the picture has already blown up and received many responses, good, bad and in between. 

**_Alex Kwon @AlexanderKwon 45 seconds ago._ **

**‘** _**Hey take this down, you have no business using a private photo of Sophie, you’re not even meant to be in the back-brain, you just admitted that your parents broke the law by letting you do something that’s only reserved for Scythes and their apprentices.’  
** _

**Lucia Peron @luciaP 40 seconds ago.**

_**And I’m suppose to care because....?** _

**William Ford @WillFord 20 seconds ago.**

**_Oh god I use to have a crush on her! Now she’s just used goods, ugh! It’s always the pretty ones, she probably let some asshole guy who doesn’t treat her right, knock her up, when she could have had a genuinely nice guy like me! What a slut!_ **

****

Sophie feels sick to her stomach after reading the last comment, how can someone talk about another human being that way? Just as the tears start to fall, she hears a soft, familiar and comforting voice. 

“Sophie.” She turns, and sees her parents standing in the doorway, both looking worried but also furious. Seeing them is a big comfort to Sophie, she needs them right now, more than ever. 

“Mama, daddy, I....” Sophie begins, but breaks off as the sobs start to catch in her throat. 

“Oh my love.” Marie softly says, quickly making her way across the room and embracing her daughter tightly, with Michael following behind. 

“Lets put this away for now, hm? It’s not going to do you any good to read through the replies.” Michael softly suggests, picking Sophie’s phone up and placing it in her desk drawer. 

“I-I knew Caroline hated me but why would anyone do something like this to anyone?” Sophie asks in a tight tone, resting her head against her mother’s chest. 

“Oh Sophie, my sweet girl, I’m afraid there are a lot of nasty people out there who just want to hurt others. I think your father and I may have sheltered you a bit too much, we never wanted you to hurt like we did.” Marie quietly says. 

“You’re the most precious thing in the world to us Sophie, always have been and always will be, we wanted and want to give you the most perfect, happy life possible, but I think in the process of that we forgot we all have to experience some degree of hurt at some stage, as a little girl we could protect you from the harsh realities of the world, but now you’re growing up and we can’t protect you quiet so easily anymore.” Michael says in a wistful tone, brushing Sophie’s hair back from her face. 

“How am I suppose to deal with this? I don’t really care what people think of me, but I don’t want to have to face those heinous comments everyday, both online and in real life.” Sophie asks, worried that this is going to be her life from now on.

“People will talk Soph, no matter what, I’m afraid there isn’t anything we can do to stop it, but we will be here to love you and support you through it all, and in time it will become old news and people will stop talking about it. It might take a couple weeks, or months or maybe even years, but it will get old eventually and will be forgotten about.” 

Over the next couple of days Sophie’s Aunts Anastasia and Munira help her write an address to the public, confirming her pregnancy but also telling them that she’ll be placing the baby for adoption. 

Of course, when people hear of this 2 days later, it causes a lot of uproar and focus on her. A lot of people think Sophie should have to keep the baby, as they are now technically next in line to be High-Blade, since Sophie has rejected the claim to the title herself. If the baby is adopted out and no longer legally Sophie’s child, then they will also loose their claim to the title. 

Some people message Sophie and plead with her to place her baby with them, though it’s very clear they just want a famous kid, which is the exact opposite from the type of parents Sophie is looking for, she wants her baby to have a normal, quiet life with people who don’t care about her biological relation to the High-Blade. 

2 weeks after the revelation, Conclave takes place, and of course Sophie’s pregnancy is the main topic of conversation among the Scythes. 

As Marie and Michael make their way into the meeting chambers to begin Conclave, they hear many comments about Sophie and her situation. 

“Did you hear about Curie’s daughter?” Scythe Eisenhower asks Scythe Addams. 

“No, what about her?”

“She’s pregnant!”

“No!”

“Yes, and apparently the father went and got himself gleaned just weeks before she found out she’s pregnant.” 

“My god, what a mess!” 

As they near the front of the room, they hear a conversation between Scythe Victoria and Scythe Bush. 

“Is it true that The High-Blade’s daughter has gone and got herself pregnant?” 

“Yes it is.” 

“And she’s only 17?” 

“Yes, and she’s not even keeping the baby, she’s placing it for adoption.” 

“Disgraceful. She needs to step up and accept responsibility, stupid little girl.” 

Michael has to physically restrain Marie from whirling around and yelling at Scythe Bush for calling Sophie ‘Stupid little girl.’ 

As Marie takes her place at the podium at the front of the room, Michael takes his seat in the middle of the first row, right in front of Marie. It’s where he’s sat every single Conclave for the last 17 years, since Marie became High-Blade. 

The murmurs from the crowd immediately start to fade, when everyone notices Marie take her place, giving them all a hard stare. 

“First matter of business today.” Marie begins. “You will all get my daughter’s name out of your mouths and stop your childish gossiping about her, you should all be ashamed, grown adults who are meant to be the most respectful people in our society, sitting around gossiping about a 17 year old, _my_ 17 year old.

Let me make it clear right here and now that Michael and I support our daughter no matter what, Sophie made a mistake, as many young people do. By choosing to place the child for adoption, Sophie is not avoiding her consequences nor being selfish, she is doing the very opposite. She has chosen to give up nine months of her life to carry and bring her child into the world herself, and find the best parents the child could ask for. 

She knows she’s not ready to be a parent, and by choosing to place her child with someone who is ready to be a parent, my daughter is making a very brave, noble, mature and selfless choice. 

I will not make any further comment on the topic, so do not even think to ask. I am also banning this topic of conversation at Conclave, forever, effective immediately.” 

Meanwhile, Alex is possibly the most angry he’s ever felt in all his life. He can’t believe someone would hurt his best friend this way, and that people would react so cruelly to such a tough situation. 

“It’s just not fair mom! Why would people do this to Sophie? What has she ever done to deserve anything like this?” Alex exclaims in a furious tone, pacing around the living room while his mother tries to calm him down. 

“Because people are assholes Alex, for no reason sometimes. I use to be one of those people, I use to like hurting people because it made me feel better about myself, it didn’t matter if the person had done anything or not, it made me feel powerful and in charge. You’re the one who changed that about me Alex, don’t ever forget that.” Olivia tells him, knowing that if she hadn’t chosen Alex over Goddard, and this all happened while Goddard was alive and she was still infatuated with him, she would have been one of the people talking shit about Sophie, too. 

“You’re a Scythe can’t you glean them?!” Alex blurts out in a moment of frustration. Olivia’s heart feels like it stops for a minute, this is what she has always been afraid of, that Alex would turn out to be like Goddard, that though they share no biological condition, Goddard did impact and affect Alex during Olivia’s pregnancy.

“Alex, 1. I’m not a Scythe anymore, I gave that up for you and I don’t regret it for a second, and it means I can’t glean anyone. And 2. Even if I could it be extremely immoral and unjust and exactly like something Goddard would do.” This immediately catches Alex off guard, and makes him realize what a horrible thing that was to say.

“Oh my god you’re right! Oh my god mom I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t mean it! I-I’m just so angry and want to do whatever I can to stop Sophie hurting and I... I swear I’m not like him!” The panic in Alex’s tone breaks Olivia’s heart, and she quickly crosses the room to pull him into her arms, running a hand through his hair and rubbing his back soothingly. 

“I know kiddo, I know.” She softly says. “It’s okay, you’re fiercely loyal, like me. That’s a good thing, but you also have my temper, you just need to be careful and not act on spur of the moment thoughts, okay?” Alex nods, holding onto his mother tightly. 

“I love you mom.” 

“I love you too Alex.”

One month later when all they hype and gossip dies down, Sophie starts actively looking for adoptive parents for her baby. She’s decided to start her search on a website where expecting parents can look at perspective adoptive parents’ profiles, and choose to ‘Match’ with them, after which they can message privately, arrange to meet up, exchange more information and details, etc. 

After about an hour of trawling through the website and not finding anyone she likes, Sophie comes across a profile that catches her eye.

The picture is of a woman with dark brown skin, long and curly black hair and warm, big brown eyes. Her smile is the first thing that catches Sophie’s eye, it’s so bright, full and real. 

The name below the picture reads ‘Safiya Adel.’ Sophie clicks through to her profile.

The first thing she sees is a picture of Safiya sitting in what seems to be a living room, she is beaming into the camera as she has her arms around two dogs, a golden retriever and a border collie. This instantly makes Sophie like Safiya more, Sophie loves dogs and has plans to have many, many of her own when she’s a bit older and moves out on her own. 

Below the picture are a few lines written by Safiya. They read

_**‘We haven’t met yet but I already love you and your child, and hold you close in my heart. I promise to give your child a happy and safe home, with a mother who loves them beyond all words and will do anything for them.’** _

It almost brings a tear to Sophie’s eye, it is so sweet and meaningful.

On the left of the profile is some information about Safiya, and preferences for a child. 

**Quick Facts About Safiya.**

**Age:** 36\. 

**Sex:** Female.

 **Gender:** Trans woman. 

**Preferences For a Child.**

**Age** : Any.

 **Sex:** Any.

 **Multiple Children** : Twins, triplets, etc. And sibling groups. 

**Race/Ethnicity** : Any.

**Post Adoption Contact/Openness.**

Open. (Open to all contact pre and post placement, open to meeting pre and post placement, regular visits, letters, photos, etc.)

Sophie then clicks through into the ‘About’ section, to learn more about Safiya, she’s trying not to get her hopes up but so far she seems like the perfect person.

**Work and Education.**

**Education:** Masters in Business. 

**Occupation:** Business Owner.

**Environment.**

**Country:** Merica.

 **Region:** EastMerica. 

**Relationship:** Single.

 **Neighborhood** : Modern.

 **Residency:** House.

 **Pet(s):** 2 dogs.

 **Children:** None.

 **Sexual Orientation:** Bisexual. 

Sophie can no longer hold back her excitement, Safiya is exactly the kind of person she’s been looking for. She seems warm and friendly and definitely someone who could give a child a lot of love. She’s okay with an open placement so Sophie can still see the baby once they’re born, and she lives nearby so it won’t be hard to see the baby often.

She is about to click the ‘Contact’ button, when she hears a voice from the doorway. 

“There you are, I was wondering where you had wandered off to.” Sophie looks up to see her dad coming into the room, wearing a casual white jumper and black trousers, he and Marie never really wear their robes at home, just casual street clothes, they started doing that when Sophie was a baby and if they wore their robes around her they would end up having to wash them almost everyday, so a few weeks after her birth they decided to just wear normal clothes at home, and put their robes on for gleaning, Conclaves, meetings, etc. 

“Did this really use to be Aunt Anastasia’s room, when she lived with mom?” Sophie curiously asks, shifting to a more comfortable position on the small sofa in front of the fireplace. 

“I believe it was, yes. What are you doing up here?” Michael asks, coming to sit next to Sophie. 

“Looking for adoptive parents, I just found the most amazing sounding person, look.” Sophie hands her father her tablet that’s still open to Safiya’s page on the adoption website.

Michael takes a minute to skim through it, before turning back to Sophie. 

“She does sound ideal, with her being so close by, just over in Eastmerica, it will be easy for you to visit her and the baby.” He notes, handing Sophie back the tablet. 

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. I think I’m going to choose her, dad.” Sophie quietly says, hugging the tablet to her chest. 

“She sounds like a great person.” Michael then reaches out and squeezes Sophie’s hand. “I’m so proud of you Sophie, and I love you so much.” 

A while later Sophie sends a message to Safiya, asking to meet up so she can get to know her better, because she’s chosen her as her baby’s adoptive parent. Safiya is of course overjoyed and beyond thankful to Sophie, and happily agrees to meet her next week, at a café just 20 minutes from Fallingwater. 

Marie, Michael and Alex all offer to go with Sophie to the meeting, but she insists on going on her, she wants to make a good first impression and not intimidate Safiya by bringing along A. Her mother, High-Blade of Midmerica. B. Her father, famous and well known Honorable Scythe Faraday, and C. Her best friend, the son of the former Scythe Rand and technically the late Scythe Goddard. 

Before she knows it, Sophie finds herself sitting across from Safiya, getting to know her. She runs a clothing shop here in Eastmerica, a very successful and popular one, and seeing as she’s her own boss she can take as long as she feels fit, for maternity leave, once the baby arrives. 

“I just want to say again how grateful I am to you for choosing me, I know it can’t have been an easy decision and I so admire your strength and bravery.” Safiya tells Sophie, in an admiring tone. Sophie blushes and shrugs her shoulders. 

“I want to do what’s best for this baby, I want them to have as equally an amazing life as I did.

You’re welcome to be really involved in the rest of the pregnancy, you can come to scans and stuff all the time, and be at the hospital when the baby’s born, but not in the delivery room, no offense but I only want my mom and my best friend there, you can come in after the baby is born. 

Also, right after they’re born, I want some time alone with them, just half an hour or so. I’ll always love this baby as my own, no matter what, before I place them with you and let you become their mom, I want a few minutes with them, a few minutes as their mom.” Sophie is beginning to get teary eyed, she really wishes she were in the right position to keep this baby, she loves them so, so much and the idea of placing them for adoption is just heart wrenching, but she knows she needs to do it, for the baby’s sake. 

“Of course, whatever you want. The baby is still yours as of right now, and it’s your pregnancy, so whatever you say, goes.” Safiya assures Sophie, making her sigh in relief. 

They talk for another hour or so, before they part ways. While Safiya heads out to her car, Sophie stay in the café for a bit longer, to process everything that just happened. She looks down at her stomach and places her hand on her bump, stroking it softly with her thumb. 

“We did it baby, we found you the perfect home.” 

The next 3 months pass by in a blur, and soon Sophie is just a week from her due date. She’s tired all the time now, and oddly desperate for the pregnancy to be over, and to go on a bit longer. On one hand she won’t miss the fatigue and how heavy the baby is, but on the other hand she’ll miss feeling her kick and having her with her everywhere 24/7. 

Currently Sophie is standing at the kitchen sink, filling up a glass of water. However just as she turns the tap off, she is gripped with an immense pain in her stomach and back, a pain like no other. She imagines this is what it would feel like if someone stabbed her. 

She bites her lip to prevent a groan or scream of pain, and grips tightly onto the edge of the sink, bending over a little and trying to breathe through the pain. 

“Mom!” Sophie weakly calls out, as the pain starts to intensify. She’s really getting scared now. 

“Sophie? Are you alright dear, what is it?” She hears her mom ask, and soon feels a hand land on her back. Sophie lets out a shuddering breath. 

“I think I’m in labor.” She weakly says. 

“Do you want to go to the hospital now, or wait a bit?” Marie asks. She had opted to have a home birth with Sophie, so has no experience in when the best time to go into hospital is. 

“Now, I want something for the pain.” 

Marie drives Sophie to the hospital, while Michael agrees to follow them in an hour or so, since Sophie only wants him there after the baby is born, and her labor could last hours. 

On the way to the hospital she calls Alex, who agrees to meet them there. She also calls Safiya to let her know she needs to start making her way to the hospital. 

Even with her nanites adjusted to help ease the pain, Sophie’s labor is still awfully painful and very, very long. She is beyond glad to have Alex and her mom with her, they’re such a huge comfort and help to her. 

After 15 hours of labor, Sophie finally feels ready to push and decides to do so sitting upright at the end of the bed, Alex holding her hand and her mom helping to support her and keep her calm. 

The pushing is very difficult, but Sophie’s midwife is extremely encouraging and doesn’t try to force her into positions that will get baby out faster. 

“Okay Sophie I can see baby’s head now, nearly there.” The Midwife calmly says, two hours into pushing. Sophie feels some relief at having finally gotten somewhere and made some progress after so long. 

She takes in a shaky breath, grips Alex’s hand and leans forward into her push, letting out a long and deep groan of pain. 

“That’s it keep it coming sweetheart, keep it coming.” The Midwife encourages as baby’s head slowly but surely starts to emerge. 

After a few more seconds Sophie stops the push as her contraction ends, and takes a minute to catch her breath. 

“Baby’s head is out now Sophie, well done, nearly there.” The Midwife smiles up at her, from her position crouched on the floor, ready to guide baby out. 

“It really hurts.” Sophie says in a breathy, wobbly tone. 

“I know but it’s almost over I promise.” The Midwife tells her. 

“You’re doing so well Sophie, so well. It’s almost over now, just a couple more pushes and it will be over.” Marie quietly says, wiping the sweat off Sophie’s forehead, with a damp washcloth. 

“You got this Soph, you’re the strongest person ever, you can do it.” Alex encourages, squeezing her hand. The next contraction starts to wash over Sophie and she starts to push again, griping Alex’s hand so hard he almost yelps in pain. 

“Oh god Alex I hate you!” Sophie wails as the pain intensifies. 

“Me? Why me?” Alex asks in a confused tone. 

“Because you’re a man and I hate men now.” Sophie pants, making Alex even more confused. He looks to Marie for help, she just smiles lightly. 

“Don’t worry she doesn’t really hate you, I said the same thing to Michael when Sophie was being born, I didn’t mean a word of it and neither does she. People talk nonsense when they’re overwhelmed.” She gently explains. 

“Okay Sophie, baby is out up to their shoulders now, one more big push and they’ll be here.”

Sophie groans, takes a deep breath and starts to push again. 

A few seconds later she feels the baby slip out into the Midwife’s awaiting hands, and soon a sharp wail rings throughout the delivery room. 

“Oh Sophie you did it! Oh you clever, clever girl I am so proud of you.” Marie says in a tight and teary tone, smoothing a hand over her daughter’s hair and kissing her temple. 

“You did awesome Soph, really awesome.” Alex tells her. 

“Boy or girl?” Sophie asks the midwife. 

“Girl. Would you like to hold her?” Sophie nods and holds her arms out for the baby. The midwife carefully passes her up to Sophie, tucking a blanket in around the baby to keep her warm. 

Sophie brings her baby to her chest and immediately falls in love with her all over again. She looks so much like her, with her skin tone, bone structure and eye shape, as well a few wisps of blonde hair. She is absolutely perfect.

Tears of joy well up in Sophie’s eyes and she pulls her baby closer and kisses her forehead. 

“Hello.” She quietly says. “I love you. Letting you go is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s not forever, we’ll still see eachother all the time. I wish I was in the right place to give you your best shot at life, i love you so much and I really want to be your mom, but you deserve just as happy a childhood as I had, and I can’t give you that.”

“Oh Sophie she’s so beautiful, well done my dear, well done.” Marie softly says, smiling down at her granddaughter as she rubs her daughter’s back soothingly. 

“I can’t wait to be her favoriet cool uncle.” Alex grins at Sophie, his face lighting up when the baby wraps her little hand around his finger. “Aw see! She loves me already.” Sophie laughs and leans her forehead against Alex’s. 

“You’re such a dork.” She sniffs. 

“Yeah but you love me for it.” 

After a few more minutes, Sophie asks one of the nurses to go bring Safiya in, to meet her daughter. The nurse happily obliges and a few minutes later, returns with Safiya behind her. 

Sophie smiles at Safiya and gestures for her to come closer. 

“Here, meet your daughter.” Sophie quietly says, carefully passing the baby to Safiya, who holds her with all the care in the world. 

“Oh.” Safiya quietly says, stroking the baby’s soft little cheek. “Hello beautiful, I can’t believe I get to love you and raise you forever, I am one lucky woman.” 

“Do you have a name for her?” Sophie asks, leaning back against the pillows. Safiya smiles and nods. 

“Yes I do, Stephanie, Stevie for short.” 

“Oh, Stevie Adel, I love it.” Sophie says. 

“I’m glad, I want her to have a name you like, too. Sophie I really cannot even begin to explain how grateful I am to you for giving me the gift of this beautiful little girl, allowing me to become a mother.” 

“You don’t need to thank me, just promise me you’ll give her the best, most happy life she could ever hope for.” 

“Absolutely, you have my word.”

2 days later, both Sophie and little Stevie are discharged from the hospital. Safiya and Sophie walk out of the hospital together, Safiya holding little Stevie. 

“I promise I’ll send you pictures as soon as we get home, and you can come visit whenever you want, okay?” Safiya asks, turning to Sophie when they reach the parking lot. Sophie nods. 

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.” Safiya pulls her in for a hug, before making her way over to her car. She quickly but gently buckles Stevie in, then gets in and starts to drive off, waving at Sophie through the window. 

“You okay?” Alex asks Sophie, as they watch Safiya pull out of the parking lot. Sophie nods.

“Yeah.” She says. “It’s just hard.” Just then she feels a hand land on her shoulder and she turns to see her dad standing there, smiling proudly at her. 

“Some of the hardest choices we make, Sophie, are the best choices. I am so incredibly proud of you.” 

Sophie knows he’s right, this is the hardest choice she’s ever had to made, but she also know it’s the best choice she’s ever made, and though it hurts like hell, she doesn’t regret it for a second. 


End file.
